Sunday 25 January 2015

Politician should declare their health record too


Like their financial health all politicians should also declare their physical  health said Padma Shri Awardee Prof Dr K K Aggarwal Honorary Secretary General Indian Medical Association and President Heart Care Foundation of India.

It is the right of the voter to know their candidates health status and whether or not they will be able to bear the stress of politics for the next five years.

Politicians are icon celebrities of the society and their habits influences the younger generation.
If they are out of shape, have abdominal obesity, if they smoke or drink the younger generation will get a wrong message.

Even if they are suffering from a disease disclosing it makes sense. We know Dr Venugopal who did first heart transplant in India operated for bypass 7 days later his own bypass. The message went loud and clear to the society that after bypass one can be active in one week.

Bharat Ratna Awardee Atal Ji when got operated for knee replacement in India the quality of Ortho surgery in Indi took a positive turn.

When somebody wants to join a public sector or any other high-level job, he or she is required to go through a fitness test.  And if their medical examination reveals any pre-existing serious disease then he or she is disqualified for the job. No cricketer or any other sportsperson is allowed to play without undergoing a vigorous and methodical medical fitness test.

Then how come a politician who is responsible for the governance of one of the largest democracies in the world is allowed to fight an election without his/her health checkup to ascertain his/hers medical fitness?

The time has come for a mandatory medical fitness test at every level whether it is a job or a public service or a political career.  When one has to declare one’s financial & criminal record, it should also be mandatory that one declares one’s previous health record prior to contesting an election.

Somebody may argue that politicians are advisors and they have to be only mentally sound and that it does not matter if they have any physical ailments. But this is not true.  The politicians should not only be mentally but physically sound too.  If they are not physically sound and only intellectually of use to the community, they can become advisors to the government but not active political leader.

The job of a politician is to work at the grass root level and provide services to the community.  They are supposed to be physically active people who can reach places of disaster in no time, walk for miles to reach the community and provide for what the public wants.


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