ROBIN ROY
Even as Trinamool Con gress MP Abhishek Ba nerjee is scheduled to travel abroad for three weeks in September 2026 for an eye treatment, following an order by the Supreme Court of India on Aug 10, 2026, his lawyer moved the High Court on Mon day challenging the freezing of his personal bank account and seeking an urgent hearing, cit ing his need to travel abroad for treatment. That is the latest update in this regard.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
This week, how ever, my focus is on Indian politicians who travel abroad for treatment and how this is perceived by the aam aadmi, who are often left to fend for themselves with the health care facilities available to them — sometimes provided by the very representatives who choose to seek treatment overseas. When elected representa tives seek medical treatment abroad, it sends a powerful message that they lack confi dence in the country’s health care system and infrastructure. The practice can undermine public trust.
The erosion of public faith can occur in many ways: • Leaders who opt for foreign facilities can appear hypocrit ical. The disconnect suggests that local facilities are “good enough for the public, but not for the leaders”. • It can also signal a lack of political will to invest taxpay ers’ money in upgrading do mestic infrastructure, research and medical education. • Public anger can arise when the exchequer covers the expensive foreign medical bills of politicians, especially when ordinary citizens strug gle to access basic, affordable healthcare. • Foreign treatment may also be seen as devaluing the skills of highly competent medical professionals in India. Why Indian politicians choose foreign hospitals Indian politicians often choose private hospitals or show a preference for travelling abroad for medi cal care because public health care faces funding shortages, infrastructure gaps and over crowding, while they can af ford or access top-tier private care and VIP facilities.
The assurance of quality can offer peace of mind during ma jor health crises, while speedy access can eliminate delays in receiving urgent medical attention. However, many Indian politi cians do place their faith in In dian medical professionals and high-end domestic facilities, often using top-tier private hospitals or premier public in stitutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). In this particular case, the Supreme Court pulled up the West Bengal government for opposing Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee’s request to travel overseas for eye treatment or surgery, as serting that every individual has the right to travel abroad and choose their medical treat ment. The matter, which had made headlines for days, has finally come to rest. “Every individual has a right to go abroad. Every individual has a right to choose the med ical treatment of their choice,” the bench said during the hearing. The court also emphasised Banerjee’s right to privacy re garding his medical condition, observing that an individual cannot be expected to put his health records in the public domain. Earlier, the High Court had taken note of Banerjee’s re fusal to appear before a med ical board at the state-run SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for assessment of his health condition.
It observed that had he ap peared before the medical board, the opinion of medical experts could have been con sidered to determine wheth er overseas treatment was necessary. Abhishek’ Sebaashray in shambles? Meanwhile, in this context, it needs to be mentioned that TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s healthcare initiative under the Diamond Harbour Model, known as the Sebaashray pro ject, has been in the eye of a storm, facing regulatory scru tiny, first information reports (FIRs) and serious legal allega tions regarding medical negli gence, fraud and unauthorised health camps. Launched in its first phase on Jan 2, 2025, Sebaashray set up hundreds of community camps offering doorstep medical aid, free diagnostic tests and major surgeries. The model’s decline was triggered by a major political shift in West Bengal that culmi nated in the rise of the saffron might in the state in the re cent Assembly polls. Deprived of state administrative back ing, the framework crumbled within weeks and the flagship health initiative subsequently faced serious legal action.
The health camps face 16 active criminal complaints alleging financial irregularities, medi cal malpractice and unauthor ised siphoning of government medical equipment. The Sebaashray centres now stand abandoned, with med ical rooms empty and official paperwork strewn across the floors. Some noted politicians who travelled abroad for treatment Sonia Gandhi: The senior Congress leader has travelled abroad multiple times for med ical check-ups and specialised treatment. Abhishek Banerjee: The Trinamool Congress MP re ceived Supreme Court permis sion to travel overseas for spe cialised eye treatment. Manohar Parrikar: The for mer Goa Chief Minister and Un ion Minister travelled abroad for treatment during his ad vanced illness. Amar Singh: The former Sa majwadi Party leader frequent ly travelled to Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital for management of his kidney ail ment and transplant. Pinarayi Vijayan: The for mer Kerala Chief Minister has travelled abroad for medical check-ups and treatment. Ananth Kumar: The late Un ion Minister travelled overseas for medical care. Lalu Prasad: He travelled to Singapore for his kidney trans plant in two main phases.
He first flew there on Oct 12, 2022, for medical evaluations and re turned for the surgery, leaving India on Nov 25, 2022. His kid ney transplant was successful ly performed on Dec 5, 2022. Medical tourism in India Medical tourism in India is a growing sector. In 2022, India’s medical tourism sector was es timated to be worth US Dollar 9 billion. Approximately 2 million patients visit India each year from 78 countries for medical, wellness and in vitro fertilisa tion (IVF) treatments, gener ating Dollar 6 billion for the industry. The sector is expect ed to reach Dollar 13 billion by 2026 and is backed by the Indian government’s Heal in India initiative. According to a 2019 report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Ernst & Young, most medical patient arrivals in India were from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the South Asian Associa tion for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. (Robin Roy is a Senior Journalist and former Senior Associate Editor, O Heraldo, Goa)
