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Key Points

The Madhya Pradesh Congress has launched a fierce attack on Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla over the tragic deaths of 16 children in Chhindwara district. The party alleges a cover-up in the cough syrup crisis and demands Shukla's removal from his ministerial post. An FIR has been registered against the pharmaceutical company and the doctor who prescribed the banned medication. The incident has sparked a major political controversy ahead of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's planned visit to the district.

Key Points: Congress Targets Shukla Over MP Child Deaths in Chhindwara

  • Congress alleges cover-up in Chhindwara child death crisis
  • Banned cough syrup Coldrif linked to 16 pediatric fatalities
  • Deputy CM Shukla accused of prematurely clearing pharmaceutical company
  • Police file FIR against syrup manufacturer and prescribing doctor
3 min read

Cong targets Dy CM over health crisis in MP's Chhindwara

Madhya Pradesh Congress demands Deputy CM Rajendra Shukla's removal after 16 children die from controversial cough syrup in Chhindwara

"Suspending a doctor is not justice - Jitu Patwari, Congress State President"

Chhindwara, Oct 6

The Madhya Pradesh Congress, on Monday, launched a scathing attack at Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, accusing him of giving a clean chit to Coldrif cough syrup that allegedly caused the death of 16 children in the Chhindwara district in the past more than 40 days.

Congress led by State party President Jitu Patwari and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar questioned Shukla's earlier statement that cough syrup was not the reason behind the death of children.

Shukla, who is leading the state's Health and Medical Education departments, had made this statement on October 1.

"Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who is Health Minister as well, should answer that why a cough syrup which was already banned in Madhya Pradesh, was made available in the market, and how could he give a clean chit to Coldrif before even proper investigation done in this case?" LoP Singhar asked.

The Congress demanded that Rajendra Shukla should be removed from his ministerial post, and an independent inquiry should order to find the exact reasons behind growing crisis in health services in Madhya Pradesh.

"Suspending a doctor is not justice. Health Minister Rajendra Shukla and Health Secretary and other senior health officials should be held responsible for this tragic incident. We are expecting tough decisions from Chief Minister Mohan Yadav when he is set to visit Chhindwara, otherwise, it would just whitewash the crime," Patwari said during his visit to Chhindwara on Monday.

During a visit to Chhindwara, nearly hours before Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday, Patwari also asked that why post-mortem of victims (children) wasn't done.

The State Congress President claimed that the post-mortem of one victim was done on Sunday only after the issue was highlighted.

According to official information, Chhindwara district administration had ordered a banned on sale of Coldrif cough syrup on September 30 after the death toll had reached to 10.

The district administration had also banned another cough syrup -- Nextro DS, which was consumed by two children.

During initial inquiry, one thing was common among all the children who got infected: 80 per cent of them used one cough syrup, and the remaining used another cough syrup.

Meanwhile, a doctor identified as Praveen Soni, who had prescribed Coldrif to most of the victims was arrested.

An FIR was registered early Sunday morning at the Parasia police station against promoters of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the Tamil Nadu-based manufacturer of Coldrif, and Praveen Soni.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
The Deputy CM giving clean chit before investigation shows how casual our leaders are about public health. Suspending one doctor is not enough - the entire system failed these children.
A
Arjun K
While I agree there should be accountability, let's not make this political. The focus should be on ensuring such tragedies don't repeat. Proper drug regulation and monitoring systems need to be strengthened across India.
S
Sarah B
As someone who has worked in public health, this highlights the urgent need for better drug surveillance. Why wasn't post-mortem done immediately? This delay raises serious questions about transparency.
V
Vikram M
The pharmaceutical company from Tamil Nadu should face strictest action. But equally important is fixing our local drug distribution system. How did banned medicines reach chemists? 🤔
K
Kavya N
My heart goes out to the families who lost their children. No political blame game can bring back those innocent lives. We need concrete action and compensation for affected families.

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