Upping the ante over the recent deaths in two major hospitals in Maharashtra, former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday rooted for a CBI enquiry into the alleged corruption in the purchase of drugs for government hospitals in the State.
Talking to media persons here, Uddhav hit out at the Shinde government for lack of money to purchase drugs at the government hospitals in the state. “The health care system is reeling under major crisis due to massive corruption in the purchase of drugs, rate-card postings, commission in deals and other problems,” he said.
Recalling the wonderful performance of the state health administration when he was the chief minister, Uddhav said: “This was the same healthcare setup that I had when I headed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government during the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time we had the same doctors, the staff, infrastructure and other things. We had performed extremely well during the Corona crisis, but see what is the status of the health system now. What has gone wrong now?”
The Sena (UBT) chief took a pot shot at chief minister Eknath Shinde for being away in the national capital attending an official meeting on the Maoist menace at a time when people are dying here in government hospitals....”The chief minister and both Deputy CMs (Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar) should have gone to Nanded, studied the situation and taken remedial measures,” Uddhav said.
Alluding to the reported shortages of medicines and other requirements in government hospitals, Uddhav said: “During the Corona pandemic, the MVA government used to supply medicines and vaccines to people in far-flung areas, so much so that we used drones to reach medicines to inaccessible areas in the state.
“See the irony. There is no pandemic now. But, we have a tragic situation. This government has money to take MLAs to Gujarat and Guwahati to bring down the MVA regime, release advertisements and to send ministers and bureaucrats on foreign jaunts. The ruling constituents are squabbling among themselves for ministerial posts, but there are no funds for the poor patients,” the Sena president.
Demanding the resignation of the Health Minister Tanaji Sawant over the scores of 100-odd deaths in the two state-run hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar districts in Maharashtra in a span of 24 hours, the Sena (UBT) chief said: “The minister is seen only seen in advertisements and posters A traitor MP Hemant S. Patil had the audacity to force Acting Dean of Nanded Hospital Dr. S. R. Wakode to clean toilets/urinals,” Uddhav said.
Uddhav demanded to know as to why only the Nanded Civil Hospital dean had been booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.