New Delhi — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on Thursday night to meet with patients and their families awaiting treatment. The Congress party shared information about the visit on its social media handles, accusing the central and Delhi governments of being insensitive to the patients.

Gandhi interacted with several patients and their families, listening to their problems and offering assurances. He took notes of their concerns and passed them on to his staff. The Congress party, in its post, highlighted the plight of patients forced to sleep on footpaths and in subways due to the long wait for treatment.

“Waiting for months for treatment, inconvenience and insensitivity of the government — this is the reality of Delhi AIIMS today. The situation is such that people who have come from far-off places bearing the burden of illness of their loved ones are forced to sleep on footpaths and subways in this freezing cold,” the party stated.

Gandhi, in a message posted on Instagram in Hindi, expressed his concern, saying, “Burden of disease, biting cold, and government insensitivity — today I met patients and their families outside AIIMS who have come from far and wide in search of treatment.” He further added, “On their path to get treatment, they are forced to sleep on roads, footpaths and subways — just keeping a flame of hope burning amidst the cold ground, hunger, and inconveniences.”

The Congress party, in its attack on the central government and the AAP-ruled Delhi government, stated, “The Modi Government and the Delhi Government have left them to their own. They have turned their back on their responsibility.”

Several patients shared their experiences with Gandhi. One patient, whose daughter is a 13-year-old blood cancer patient, said, “He asked me for my phone number, and said that his team will contact me and help me as much as possible. We arrived here on Dec. 3 and there has not been proper treatment since then.” Another patient, Govind Lal, said Gandhi inquired about his stay and his daughters’ treatment. A relative of a patient said they have been waiting in the cold, having no other option due to poverty.