Even as 17 children in Madhya Pradesh and four children in Rajasthan died due to cough syrup, the Congress on Tuesday hit back at the BJP government’s actions in both the states and demanded a judicial probe.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in Rajasthan Tikaram Jully hit back at the state government for not banning the cough syrup that had led to the deaths of several children in the state.
Firing salvos at the state government, Jully asked, “I also have a question for this government: why does it have to take supplies from those companies which are blacklisted or infamous and against which allegations are made again and again?”
He said that this is not the first time that the company in question is facing quality issues.
He pointed out that this adulteration of the standard in cough syrup, which is called DEG (Diethylene Glycol) in medical language, led to the death of about 12 children in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, in 2022 it led to 70 deaths in Gambia, and in Uzbekistan 20 children died.
The Congress leader noted that it was then investigated but the Indian government washed its hands off the matter, saying that it was manufactured for export, hence it has no impact here in India.
He also highlighted that out of the four children who died in recent days in the state due to cough syrup, one of the children is from Bharatpur district, the native district of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, and instead of banning the cough syrup, a committee has been formed, and everyone knows the reality of the committee. “If any issue needs to be suppressed, then a committee is formed,” he alleged.
He targeted the state government and said that after the death of several children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, they said that the particular batch number was not of standard quality but allowed the cough syrup to remain on sale.
And when the Tamil Nadu government, after getting an alert from the Madhya Pradesh government, banned the same cough syrup within 24 hours,
“Why did the Madhya Pradesh government ban it after the death of nine children and the Rajasthan government not ban it?” Jully asked.
He also remarked that the Rajasthan Health Minister left the press conference after he was asked about the cough syrup.
He further alleged that the cough syrup in question has DEG, but the governments are denying it, and instead of getting it checked thoroughly, they are delaying the process, which is pointing towards a larger conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Singhar also targeted Mohan Yadav, saying that in Chhindwara’s Parasiya assembly seat, 16 children died due to the same cough syrup.
“Our MLA Sohan Valmiki staged a protest in Chhindwara and also warned the state government by writing a letter to the Chief Minister. I also wrote and demanded a judicial probe,” Singhar said.
He asked why the government did not wake up despite MLAs writing letters to them.
He pointed out that after several deaths, the dead body of a guilty child was brought out and taken for postmortem, whereas the Chief Minister was busy getting his photograph clicked at Kaziranga National Park with elephants, he rued.
Taking a swipe at the state government and Mohan Yadav, the Madhya Pradesh CLP Leader said, “What an insensitive Chief Minister, what kind of government… their Deputy Chief Minister said four to five days ago that no one is dying from cough syrup. They also gave a clean chit to that company.”
Singhar alleged that even many children are getting treated at other hospitals and their parents had spent lakhs of rupees. “But the state government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh,” he said, demanding that the state government should take care of the medical bills of these families that they had spent and then provide ex gratia.
Both the leaders then demanded a judicial probe into the deaths of children due to cough syrup.
Ankur Mishra is a journalist who covers an extensive range of news, from business, stock markets, IPOs to geopolitics, world affairs, international crises, and general news. With over a decade of experience in the business domain, Ankur has been associated with some of the reputed media brands. Through a sharp eye on global marketplaces along with deep insights and analysis of business strategies, Ankur brings simplicity to the complex economic matrix to decode market trends and empower people.
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