Manmohan Singh’s family objected to photographer accompanying Mansukh Mandaviya, were ‘ignored’

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya drew flak on Friday for getting photographs taken while visiting former prime minister Manmohan Singh at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi.

Singh had been admitted on Wednesday and diagnosed with dengue. Mandaviya visited him at AIIMS on Thursday.

According to the Hindu, Singh’s daughter, Damandeep Singh, said her mother had objected to a photographer being present during Mandaviya’s visit but had been ignored.

“It was nice of the health minister to visit and express his concern. However, my parents were in no state to be photographed at the time,” she said. “My mother insisted that the photographer should leave the room, but she was completely ignored. She was very upset. My parents are trying to cope in a difficult situation.”

She told the Print that her parents are “elderly people, not animals in a zoo”.

The Hindu reported that Mandaviya had tweeted photos of the visit; he later deleted them after “social media backlash”. However, the pictures had already been circulated; Zee News, for instance, used one of the pictures for a report on their website about Mandaviya’s visit.