Gorakhpur tragedy: Opposition demands resignation of CM Yogi, health minister

The opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh demanded the resignation of CM Yogi Adityanath over the deaths of 63 children at a hospital in Gorakhpur.

Lucknow, August 12: The opposition parties are up in arms against the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh after 63 children died in the last five days at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Hospital in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress, on Saturday, demanded the resignation of the chief minister and health minister of the state over the massive tragedy of deaths of minor patients in the hospital allegedly due to lack of supply of oxygen.

"Considering he (Adityanath) is both the member of Parliament (MP) and the CM, he must take moral responsibility and step down. So should his health minister (Siddharth Nath Singh)," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told ANI. Gorakhpur is the parliamentary constituency of the UP CM. He still holds the seat.

A Congress delegation also visited the hospital on Saturday. The Congress leaders who visited the hospital included Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar. Speaking to reporters at the hospital, Congress leader RPN Singh alleged that the tragedy happened due to the lapse on part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also demanded UP CM's resignation. "Hope he (Adityanath) has enough shame left in him to go and regret to the parents of the dead children and quit on moral grounds," said BSP senior leader Sudhindra Bhadoria.

"This is a matter of great shame for the UP CM. If there is any morality in the government, the CM should quit for such a disaster," added the BSP leader. The UP CM is yet to visit the hospital.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav too criticised the UP government over the tragedy. The SP demanded immediate compensation for the parents of the dead children.

"The parents of children who died must get compensation. Free medicine must be provided to poor families across UP," said Ram Gopal Yadav of the SP.

Reacting to the criticism over the deaths of children, UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that the Opposition was giving statements in haste. "The UP government is committed to the service of people. Strict action will be taken against the responsible people," he added.

"It's a heart-wrenching incident. We are saddened by the children's death. This happened due to the state government's carelessness," said Azad.

"Both the health minister and minister of technical and medical education must resign. The UP CM can't step back from duty. He must apologise to the people of the state," added Azad.

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