NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Thursday witnessed a protest during Zero Hour from the CPI(M) over allegations of spurious and substandard medicines in Kerala. The protest began when Congress MP Jebi Mather Hisham launched a blistering attack on Kerala’s drugs control department, claiming that recent raids across the state had exposed the widespread availability of counterfeit and poor-quality medicines.
As soon as Congress MP Hisham made her allegations, CPI(M) MP John Brittas and others sharply objected. Despite their protests, the Chair allowed the Congress member to complete her speech. Hisham said raids conducted in Kozhikode, Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram had “revealed a shocking truth” about the extent of counterfeit medicines circulating in Kerala’s pharmaceutical market.
“No member can mislead the House. All spurious medicines were produced elsewhere and brought to Kerala,” Brittas said in reply crediting the state for its efficiency in detecting counterfeit drugs. He objected to what he called “nasty aspersions” cast on the CM and demanded that those comments be expunged from the record. “Please delete that,” he urged the Chair.
“This is not a small lapse. These raids expose the utter failure and shameful inefficiency of the state’s drug control department. Its negligence has allowed an unregulated network of manufacturers and marketing companies to push substandard medicines from outside Kerala,” the Congress MP added.