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Congress’s Sachin Pilot called for compassion while responding to infant deaths in Kota
New Delhi/Kota:
Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot offered cautious criticism of his government today, urging the Congress to be “compassionate and sensitive” following the deaths of more than 100 infants at a state-run hospital in Kota district. Mr. Pilot’s comment comes two days after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot suggested the number of deaths was good news given over 1,100 had died at the same hospital in 2016, when the BJP was in power.
“I think our response to this could have been more compassionate and sensitive. After being in power for 13 months I think it serves no purpose to blame the previous government’s misdeeds… accountability should be fixed,” Sachin Pilot, who visited the JK Lon Hospital where the deaths occurred, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Responding to the tragedy the Chief Minister had tweeted: “Government figures say child casualties in JK Lon Hospital in Kota have reduced to 963 this year from 1260 in 2015 and 1193 in 2016 when the state was ruled by BJP. In 2018, 1005 children lost their lives here”.
At least 10 of the infants who died at the JK Lon Hospital in the state died in a 48-hour period starting December 23, with a further nine dying in the last two days of the month. A three-member investigative team appointed by the state government admitted that some of the equipment was malfunctioning and there was a lack of resources.
Over 100 babies died at the JK Lon Hospital in Rajasthan’s Kota in December
The committee also claimed extreme cold weather made it tougher for babies already fighting for their lives. Kota saw temperatures drop to 3 degrees Celsius in the final week of December.
Tensions spiked between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot last year after the Congress’s poor performance in Lok Sabha polls in the state last year. The Congress was wiped out despite winning Assembly elections in 2018 and Mr Gehlot blamed Mr Pilot for his son’s – Vaibhav Gehlot – defeat in parliamentary polls. Mr Gehlot, in turn, was accused of addressing rallies mostly for his son.
Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot also clashed in December last year, after state polls, with each eyeing the Chief Minister’s post. Mr Gehlot won out after he convinced party leadership he could deliver results in Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress, which has come under fire from opponents like Mayawati and Yogi Adityanath over the Kota deaths, responded by party chief Sonia Gandhi, who called senior party leaders to a meeting.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also responded to the deaths, telling reporters she had taken details of the issue and a Congress delegation had been dispatched for further probe.
The state has been served a notice by the NHRC (National Human Rights Commission). The human rights body has also directed the state to ensure that such deaths of children do not recur in future due to “lack of infrastructure and health facilities” in hospitals.
With input from ANI
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