Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the Jhansi hospital fire tragedy saying he should leave campaigning for bypolls and focus on poor health infrastructure of the state.
At least 10 newborn babies were charred to death and 16 others battling for life after a fire broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Jhansi Medical College on Friday night.
“The news of 10 children dying and many children getting injured due to fire in Jhansi Medical College is extremely sad and worrying. Heartfelt tributes to everyone,” Yadav said in his post on X in Hindi.
“The cause of the fire is being said to be a fire in the ‘oxygen concentrator’. This is a direct case of negligence of medical management and administration or of poor quality oxygen concentrator,” he added.
झाँसी मेडिकल कॉलेज में आग लगने से 10 बच्चों की मृत्यु एवं कई बच्चों के घायल होने का समाचार बेहद दुखद एवं चिंताजनक है। सबके प्रति संवेदनात्मक श्रद्धांजलि।
आग का कारण ‘ऑक्सीजन कॉन्संट्रेटर’ में आग लगना बताया जा रहा है। ये सीधे-सीधे चिकत्सीय प्रबंधन व प्रशासन की लापरवाही का मामला… pic.twitter.com/639O0QHPPK
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) November 16, 2024
The former UP CM demanded punitive action against all those responsible in this case.
“The chief minister should leave the election campaign and false claims of ‘everything being fine’ and focus on the poor condition of health and medical facilities,” he said.
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Akhilesh’s Dig At Dy CM Pathak
Taking a dig at Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak who also holds the medical health portfolio, Yadav said “There is nothing to say to him because it is because of him that the health and medical system in UP has deteriorated so much today.” “The minister, who is busy making low-level comments of narrow-communal politics, may not even remember that he is the ‘health and medical minister’. He neither has any power nor any willpower, he just has a plaque with his name on it,” he added.
“First of all, the UP BJP government should provide world-class medical facilities to all the children suffering from burn injuries and give Rs 1 crore each as condolence money to all the bereaved families who have lost their children. Gorakhpur should not be repeated,” Yadav said.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati demanded strict legal punishment for the culprits.
“The extremely sad incident of the death of 10 newborn babies due to fire in Maharani Laxmibai Medical College, Jhansi, UP, has naturally caused uproar and anger,” she said in a post on X in Hindi.
“Strict legal punishment is necessary for the culprits for such fatal negligence. It is impossible to compensate for such incidents, yet the government must help the affected families in every possible way,” she added.
