Rajasthan Speaker Devnani hospitalised briefly in Patna, leaves for Jaipur

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani hospitalized in Patna during national conference, discharged and flown back to Jaipur.

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani was hospitalised briefly in Patna on Monday after he complained of uneasiness while attending a national conference of presiding officers of State Legislatures. Mr. Devnani left for Jaipur by a special plane late in the evening after being discharged from the hospital.

Mr. Devnani, 77, was rushed to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Cardiology at the Patna Medical College and Hospital, where his thorough health check-up was carried out. The Speaker told journalists while leaving the hospital that he was given medicines for the acidity symptoms.

A team of doctors was dispatched from here to assist in Mr. Devnani’s treatment, following the updates received by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and Medical & Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar, who closely monitored the situation.

Mr. Devnani was in Patna to participate in the two-day 85th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference, inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday. He was scheduled to visit the pilgrim towns in Bihar, such as Nalanda, Gaya and Bodh Gaya, after attending the conference. State Assembly’s Special Secretary Bharat Bhushan Sharma accompanied Mr. Devnani.

Mr. Birla also visited the hospital to enquire about Mr. Devnani’s health condition. The theme of the conference was “75th anniversary of Constitution: Contribution of Parliament and State legislative bodies in strengthening constitutional values”. The event witnessed participation of Speakers and Deputy Speakers of State Assemblies and chairpersons of Legislative Councils from across the country.

Elected from Ajmer North constituency for five consecutive terms, Mr. Devnani was the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s face in the two Bharatiya Janata Party governments in Rajasthan headed by Vasundhara Raje. He was the Education Minister for two terms, when he took some controversial decisions, including compulsory recitation of Saraswati Vandana, and the mandatory exercise of Surya Namaskar in schools.

Mr. Devnani belongs to the Sindhi Hindu community, which migrated en masse from Pakistan’s Sindh province during the Partition and settled, among other regions, in and around Ajmer. The ruling BJP appointed Mr. Devnani as the Assembly Speaker to bring in the element of caste diversity in the government following the appointment of Mr. Sharma, a Brahmin, as the Chief Minister, and a Rajput and a Scheduled Caste person as the two Deputy CMs, respectively.