Bengaluru: BJP president Amit Shah on Monday dismissed the calls for heads to roll in the Uttar Pradesh government over the death of 63 children in a government hospital in Gorakhpur, saying “this is not the first time such a tragedy has happened in our country.”
Speaking at a rally in Bengaluru, Shah called the deaths an “accident” and said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already ordered a probe into the incident. “The state government has ordered a time-bound investigation into the deaths. We won't spare the guilty. We will fix accountability,” he said.
The BJP chief also took pot-shots at the Congress, which has been demanding the resignation of Yogi Adityanath for the lapses at the hospital, saying that unlike the Congress, their government would not assign blame without a thorough probe.
“It is Congress’s job to ask for resignation. In a big country like India, there have been many such incidents in the past. This is not the first time,” he said.
He also said that BJP’s sincerity towards working for the poor should not be doubted based on just one incident. “Our intention to serve the poor must not be doubted based on just this one incident,” he said.
Sixty three children suffering from Japanese encephalitis have died at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur since August 7, including 30 kids within a span of 48 hours, allegedly over the lack of oxygen supply as the hospital failed to clear pending dues of Rs 68 lakh. The National Human Rights Commission has also sent a notice to the state government over the deaths.
An under fire Adityanath, as well as union health minister JP Nadda, had visited the hospital on Sunday and promised exemplary action against those found guilty. The government has sacked the hospital’s principal as well as the nodal officer for the encephalitis ward.
To cool frayed tempers, the Narendra Modi government announced it would set up a regional medical centre at a cost of Rs 85 crore in Gorakhpur for conducting research on ailments that afflict children.
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