LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday refuted the reports claiming that 60 infants died due to shortage of oxygen at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur in August last year, adding, the incident took place due to "internal politics" at the hospital.
Speaking in an event in Lucknow on Saturday, Adityanath said, "Last year there were reports that infants died at the BRD medical college in Gorakhpur due to lack of oxygen supply. Had it been oxygen shortage, the infants on the ventilator would have died first."
"After inquiring, I came to know that it was a result of the internal politics of the hospital. We had to counsel the doctors to deal with the issue. I asked them to focus on the root cause of encephalitis and educate people about government schemes to fight dirty and unhygienic surroundings," Adityanath added.
The Chief Minister further said that soon after the incident he asked the health officials of Uttar Pradesh to inquire about the incident.
"When I came to know about the incident, I immediately asked the Director General of Health, the Health Minister and the Medical Education Minister to reach the spot and report me. Next day, I decided to go there myself and I came to know that there was no shortage of oxygen," he said.
In August 2017, as many as 60 infants died, allegedly due to lack of oxygen supply. The hospital authorities, however, said that the infants died due to encephalitis.