New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday demanded a thorough investigation into 31 deaths at a government hospital in Maharashtra's Nanded and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence in the matter.
Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge raised questions about the state government's health system and sought the strictest punishment for the guilty.
A top Maharashtra health official had on Monday told the press that 24 people, including 12 infants, had died between September 30 and October 1 at a government hospital in Nanded.
The toll rose to 31 on Tuesday with seven more people dying at the same hospital in the last 24 hours.
In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge expressed his concern over the deaths.
"It is said that these patients died due to lack of medicines and treatment. A similar incident took place in a government hospital in Thane in August 2023 in which 18 patients lost their lives," Kharge said.
"Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Such incidents taking place repeatedly have raised a question mark on the health system of the state government," the Congress chief said, hitting out at the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra.
"We demand a thorough investigation so that the culprits of this negligence are given strict punishment by the judiciary," he said.
Former party chief Rahul Gandhi Monday night alleged why there was no money for children's medicines when the BJP government spends crores of rupees on publicity.
Congress General Secretary Communications Jairam Ramesh said 31 patients, of whom 16 were either infants or children, died "Yet the Prime Minister is completely silent." "Just a few weeks ago, a similar horrific tragedy had taken place in a hospital in Thane district. The MH state government has a surplus of CMs with one CM, two CMs in-waiting and others awaiting," he said in a post on X.
"But there is zero accountability in this illegal government for which the PM and the HM — who engineered the entire operation — must be held responsible," Ramesh said.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a post on X on Monday demanded strict action against those responsible for the inordinate number of deaths and compensation for the affected families.
"May God grant peace to the departed souls. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families.
"Strict action should be taken against those responsible and compensation should be given to the affected families," she said.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi expressed his grief at the news of the deaths and offered his condolences to the bereaved families.
"The BJP government spends thousands of crores of rupees on its publicity, but there is no money for medicines for children? In the eyes of the BJP, the lives of the poor have no value," he alleged.
In a social media post, the Nanded DIO said, "The facts related to the death of patients at Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital is as follows: 24 deaths between September 30 and October 1; seven deaths between October 1 and 2." "Please do not panic. A team of doctors is ready," it added.
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