BJP Mayor fakes blood donation during drive on PM Modi's birthday, gets trolled

BJP Mayor Vinod Agarwal said he went to the camp to donate blood but the doctor, when told that he was diabetic, said that he could not donate.

In Short

• Blood donation camp held on PM Modi's birthday on September 17
• BJP Mayor accused of photo op by social media users
• Vinod Agarwal says he could not donate blood as he is diabetic

The Mayor of Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad and senior BJP leader Vinod Agarwal faced flak on social media after a video of him faking donating blood during a drive organised on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday went viral. The incident happened on September 17 at the local BJP office.

The video shows the Mayor lying on the bed at a blood donation camp as a healthcare worker prepares to check his blood pressure. However, the BJP leader then asks the doctor not to proceed with the procedure.

As the paramedic takes out the needle, the Mayor suddenly gets up from the bed and leaves the room.

As soon as the video went viral, social media users criticised Agarwal for staging a fake blood donation just for the camera.

The BJP leader, when asked about the viral video, termed it a conspiracy by his rivals to defame him. Agarwal said he went to the camp to donate blood but the doctor, when told that he was diabetic, said that he could not donate.

"On September 17, a blood donation camp was organised by the youth wing of the BJP. I also expressed my desire to donate blood. So, before taking blood, the doctor asked me if I had any disease. I told him that I have diabetes and two years ago, I had a heart problem. The doctor then told me that I could not donate blood. So, I got up immediately," the Mayor said.

PROTOCOL FOR BLOOD DONATION

Dr Sangeeta Gupta (Chief Superintendent Joint, District Hospital Moradabad) said that there are protocols for blood donation, according to which any healthy person between the age of 18 to 55 years can donate blood.

"We carry out various kinds of blood tests on the donor to see that infected blood does not get transfused to anyone else, she said. Only a person with normal blood-sugar levels can donate blood," she added.

With inputs from Jagat Gautam