New Delhi: Following the deaths of two newborns who were reportedly bitten by rats at the government-run Maharaja Yashwantrao (MY) Hospital in Indore, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, accusing them of "government negligence" and saying they should "hang their heads in shame".
One of the infants died on Tuesday, with the hospital saying that pneumonia was the cause of her death. The other infant passed away on Wednesday, and the hospital administration claimed that blood infection and not a rat bite was the cause of death.
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Slamming the BJP government over the incidents, Rahul Gandhi in an X post, said, "In Indore, two newborn babies died due to rat bites in Madhya Pradesh's largest government hospital. This is no accident, this is outright murder", news agency PTI reported.
"This incident is so horrific, inhuman, and insensitive that even hearing about it sends shivers down the spine." A child has been snatched from a mother's lap, simply because the government failed to fulfil its most basic responsibility, said the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
"The health sector has been deliberately handed over to private hands -- where treatment is now only for the rich. For the poor, government hospitals are no longer life-saving, but have become dens of death," Gandhi said.
"The administration, as always, says -- 'There will be an investigation'. But the question is, when you can't even ensure the safety of newborn children, what right do you have to run the government?" he posed.
The Congress leader said, "PM Modi and the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh should hang their heads in shame. Your government has stripped millions of poor people in the country of their right to health -- and now children are being snatched from mothers' laps."
"Modi ji, this voice is rising on behalf of those lakhs of parents who are today victims of governmental negligence. What will be your response?" Gandhi said. Asserting that his party will not remain silent, he said this fight is for the rights of every poor person, every family and every child, reports PTI.
Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital Deputy Superintendent Dr Jitendra Verma said the newborn girl, who had been recently attacked by rats and died during treatment on Wednesday, weighed only 1.60 kg and suffered from various congenital deformities, including intestinal deformity. She was operated upon at the hospital seven days ago, and her condition was critical due to 'septicemia', or blood infection, which claimed her life, he said.
As per her family's wish, the body was handed over to them without conducting an autopsy, the doctor added.
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