In a desperate bid to keep the botched sterilisation surgeries issue alive, the Congress on Thursday displayed a massive protest in Raipur and its dozens of senior cadres attempted to break into heavy police barricades to lay siege to Chief Minister’s Residence.
The Congress also raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday and sought dismissal of the Raman Singh Government. The party has announced to hold a demonstration on the issue before the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi, on December 10.
Thousands of Congress cadres fought a pitched battle with police in Raipur when they defied police warnings and tried to jump over barricades to reach CM’s residence to stage a protest against sterilisation fiasco that happened this month in
Bilaspur district which claimed at least 13 poor women and dozens were hospitalised as rat poison was administered to them instead of pain-killers and medicines.
The Congress which was starved of any potential issue in the State for years against the BJP regime had launched a six-day ‘pad yatra’ on November 22 from Pendari, the village where one of the deadly camps was held.
The pad yatra concluded in Raipur on Thursday and all the senior leaders such as PCC chief Bhupesh Baghel, leader of the Opposition, TS Singhdeo and Amit Jogi, brought their supporters in bulk to impress the party high command.
Police briefly arrested dozens of senior leaders including Baghel and junior Jogi (son of former CM Ajit Jogi). About 50 party cadres sustained injuries in police action at OCM Chowk when they pushed back barricades and clashed with police.
The Congress claimed that police brutally assaulted its several men and women protesters on directives of State Government in a day-long protest in Raipur. Party also vowed to step up the agitation on sterilisation fiasco in coming up weeks. Meanwhile, the Congress on Thursday also targeted Chhattisgarh Government in the Rajya Sabha over the botched-up sterilisation surgeries case and demanded its dismissal. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Pramod Tiwari said 83 tubectomy surgeries were performed by one doctor on a single day although medical norms provide for maximum of ten such operations in a day.
“The doctor in question was decorated by Chief Minister Raman Singh at Republic Day function this year,’’ he alleged. Tiwari further said that the facilities for carrying out the operation were not adequate.
He alleged that rat poison was administered to the operated tribal women instead of pain-killers and medicines for the camp were bought from black-listed pharma companies. “It is not the doctor who is responsible but Chhattisgarh Government. Chhattisgarh government should be dismissed instead,” he said.