Party leaders said there was gross negligence on the part of the authorities in allowing the sale of the cough syrup despite reports of related deaths in the past
NEW DELHI — The Congress has demanded a judicial probe into the deaths of several children in different BJP-ruled states, caused by the consumption of a cough syrup.
The party also urged respective governments, particularly those of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where most of the deaths took place, to provide adequate compensation to the affected families who lost their kids in the tragedy.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here on Tuesday, Tika Ram Jully and Umang Singhar, Leaders of Opposition in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh legislative assemblies respectively, said that there was gross negligence on the part of the authorities in allowing the sale of the cough syrup despite reports of related deaths in the past.
The two leaders revealed that the cough syrup was found to be containing a highly toxic chemical diethylene glycol (DEG), which is known to cause kidney damage among the kids.
They said the same substance was found in the cough syrups linked to deaths in Jammu and Kashmir, Gambia and Uzbekistan.
The Congress leaders from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh revealed that the company supplying the cough syrup had been blacklisted earlier and despite that it was allowed to supply the syrup.
Suspecting massive corruption involved in the whole matter, they asked, what could be the other reason or motivation behind allowing a blacklisted company to supply the medicines, which instead of saving the lives proved to be fatal.
The two leaders maintained that the main reason for such gross negligence was the systematic failure of administration in the two states, where both the chief ministers have to “look towards Delhi” for every step they have to take and every move they make.
Seeking a judicial probe to thoroughly investigate the matter and identify all the culprits involved in this massive scandal that led to such a tragedy involving the death of about 20 kids, the Congress leaders pointed out that most of the families whose children had died came from economically poor backgrounds. They said, these families have suffered the double blow of losing their kids and incurring huge debts due to expenses of the treatment.
They demanded that the affected families must be adequately compensated to help them come out of the debt. They said, while nobody can compensate for the loss of their dear ones due to negligence of the governments and administration, the affected families should at least be supported in escaping the debt trap they have fallen into.
