Bhopal, Sep 20 (IANS) As the rising incidents of rats roaming freely have emerged in some government-run hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress, on Saturday, sharpened its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the state.

The Congress alleged that despite the heart-wrenching incident in Maharaja Yeshwantrao hospital in Indore where two newborn babies had died after being bitten by rats, the state administration has not taken serious measures to ensure the safety of patients at public health institutions.

The fresh round of attack from the Opposition Congress came after rats were seen in two more government-run hospitals, one in Shivpuri district hospital and the other in Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College in Jabalpur in the past week.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, Umang Singhar, on Saturday, launched a targeted attack at Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who is also Health and Medical Education Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

Singhar accused Deputy Chief Minister Shukla of “not being serious” in handling the rat menace even though it has become a serious issue in several government-run hospitals in the state.

These incidents have not only shown a grim picture of public health system but also that how government hospitals are being governed, the LoP said.

Citing an example of crack on building of a newly built government hospital in Rewa and lack of medical facilities in the district’s Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, Congress leader said: “When he (Deputy Chief Minister Shukla) can’t manage the situation in his home district, what more we can expect from him?”

He also targeted the Deputy CM Shukla over the drug menace in Rewa district.

“In the Deputy Chief Minister’s own city, liquor and Corex are being sold and consumed, it shows how incapable the Deputy Chief Minister is,” LoP Singhar told IANS in Bhopal on Saturday.

Notably, Deputy CM Shukla is currently one of the most powerful leaders from the Vindhya region of the state.

A five-time MLA from Rewa constituency, Shukla won his first state Assembly election in 2003 and since then he has not lost a single election.

“If they (BJP) cannot manage their own city, how can they manage hospitals? Dogs and rats are roaming freely, and newborns are being harmed by rats,” LoP Singhar added.

Responding to the allegations of rats seen roaming in the Shivpuri district hospital, Deputy Chief Minister Shukla clarified that rats were seen in the hospital but “they have not bitten any patients there”.

“In Shivpuri, no patient was harmed in the incident. The entire medical college and hospital have been put on alert. Monitoring of pest control has been intensified. Measures have been taken to ensure that such incidents do not happen again. The entire health department has been instructed and alerted,” the Deputy Chief Minister told IANS.

–IANS

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