After the hospital horror in Rajasthan, the poor state of affairs in Gujarat have come to spotlight. As many as 1,000 children died in Gujarat last year. On Sunday, a video went viral that showed Gujarat Chief Minister walking away when asked about infants death in Rajkot and Ahmedabad. Many are comparing Gujarat and Rajasthan and say that instead of staying silent, Rupani should have issued a statement on the health crisis. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala slammed the BJP government of Gujarat for ‘insensitive attitude’.
VIDEO : Gujarat Chief Minister #VijayRupani walks away when asked about reports of deaths of 219 infants in Rajkot and Ahmedabad hospitals
📸: ANI@vijayrupanibjp
For more updates, visit https://t.co/FKiTwn4lh5 pic.twitter.com/O0K80UebtB— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) January 5, 2020
“Sh. Vijay Rupani, CM,Guj. is MLA from Rajkot. Jan-Dec, 1,235 children have died in Rajkot hospital. Sh. Amit Shah is MP from Gandhinagar+Ahmedabad. 375 children have died in last 3 months in Civil Hospital. When questioned, CM runs away! Will PM dare to dismiss Vijay Rupani (sic),” asked Surjewala.
Meanwhile, GS Rathod, Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital released the official data on infant deaths. “In December 455 newborn were admitted in neonatal intensive care unit (ICU), of them 85 died,” Rathod said. Manish Mehta, Dean, Rajkot Civil Hospital said that, “111 children died in the month of December at Rajkot Civil Hospital.” According to a report by The Hindu, among the many factors that have contributed to infant mortality are shortage of medical staff at government hospitals and complete collapse of primary health care services in the state.
Criticising his government over the deaths of 107 children in Kota's state-run JK Lon Hospital, Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Saturday said their response to the infant deaths could have been more sensitive. He said it was not a small incident and also stressed that accountability for the entire episode should be fixed.