A first-time MLA from BSP and horticulture minister in Mayawati cabinet, Narayan Singh has come forward to help 17-year-old Hemant Pathak.

Coming from a middle class family of a Pilibhit village, Hemant is undergoing treatment for renal failure at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow.

“I saw the boy's mother and sister weeping,” said Singh. He immediately called up his friends, asking them for help and put in his contribution too. “I have many doctor friends in Agra who help me in such situations. Sometimes I also send poor patients to them for free or subsidised treatment,” he said.

Hailing from Bahardari village of Hathras, Singh settled in Agra about three decades ago and set up his construction business. Barring brother Ramji Lal Suman, a Samajwadi Party Member of Parliament from Ferozabad, who is also the party's a general secretary, Singh does not have a political background.

He had even fielded wife Kalawati Suman for Agra Mayoral elections from the Congress. But she lost to the Bhartiya Janata Party candidate Anjula Singh.

This is not the first time, though, that the minister has come to someone’s aid.

Last year he cajoled many of his friends to donate blood. He himself has donated blood four times.

On January 26, as a chief guest at the Republic Day function in Agra, Singh donated Rs 5 lakh for police welfare funds and Rs 11,000 to each of the seven schools who participated in the parade.

But what worries him today is the cost of Hemant's treatment. “The doctor says it will cost around Rs 6 lakh, because it involves the treatment of Hemant's brother as well, who is donating his kidney.” He hopes that after his initiative, others come forward to assist the family.