New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) The Congress today demandedGujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's resignation over thedeaths of 20 babies in three days at a civil hospital, andsaid Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shahshould be held accountable for infant deaths across thecountry.
The party also demanded a court-monitored probe into thedeaths of babies at the Ahmedabad civil hospital.
Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill criticised Modi for "noteven making a mention" of the incident in his monthly radioaddress 'Mann-ki-Baat', and accused him of being "insensitive"to the pain of the families of the deceased.
He dubbed the prime minister's radio address as "yetanother disappointing monologue" which was not in sync withthe ground reality and current issues facing the country.
"Does the prime minister not feel the pain of the deathsof these infants in his heart or does he not have any sympathyfor the families of the victims?"Instead of (expressing his) 'Mann ki Baat', the primeminister should have apologised to the people of this country,especially the families of the innocent infants, who losttheir lives due to gross criminal negligence of the BJP-runadministration," Shergill said in a statement.
The deaths of the infants were not an "unfortunateincident" but "cold-blooded murders" by the stateadministration.
"The Congress demands that Gujarat Chief Minister VijayRupani immediately resign from the post on account of thedeaths," he said.
He said Modi and Shah "should be held accountable andanswerable for the frequent deaths of infants" all over India,especially in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
"The Congress demands that Modi, rather than indulging inPR exercises, should start addressing the real issues of theeconomy and do something to put an end to the dance of deathgoing on in various BJP-ruled states," he said.
The Congress leader alleged that the BJP in order tosatiate its political appetite has turned government hospitalsand doctors into "political handles for its political gains".
Shergill also alleged that an "operation cover-up" hasstarted in Gujarat to protect the accused involved in the"horrific" incident by authorising the deputy superintendentof the civil hospital to conduct an inquiry.
"How can the accused be a judge in his own case? This isnothing but an eyewash to protect the accused," he said. PTISKC SMNSMN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.