Shiv Sena hits out at Yogi Adityanath govt in UP, calls Gorakhpur tragedy 'mass murder'

Lucknow: Politics over the death of 63 children in Gorakhpur’s government hospital continues unabated. In the latest salvo, the Shiv Sena termed the tragedy as ‘mass murder’ in its mouthpiece, the Saamana. 

The party, which shares an uneasy alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra took pot shots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, “The sufferings of the poor don't move our politicians. And that is the failure of our Independence. This suffering and pain is the 'Mann Ki Baat' of the poor Thankfully, the government has at least admitted that there are so many deaths in Gorakhpur. Otherwise, they would have said that these children have only stopped breathing, and will start breathing again once they hear the independence speech delivered from Red Fort.”

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray added, ''If children really do die in August each year, how come children of politicians and local strongmen are spared? Death doesn't visit their homes? This is mass murder of children.''

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today refused to intervene in the issue, saying the matter was being handled by the Uttar Pradesh government and any grievances about it should be raised before the Allahabad High Court.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his visit to the hospital yesterday promised exemplary punishment for the guilty. Union Minister JP Nadda, who had accompanied the Chief Minister, has ruled out a separate investigation by the Centre.

Oxygen shortage has been blamed for the deaths - a claim the hospital authorities have denied. The state government has already taken action, removing the doctor in charge Dr Kafeel Khan and suspending the hospital chief, Dr Rajeev Mishra,  for negligence. 

The oxygen supply had been stopped by the vendor after the hospital  defaulted on payment. Last Thursday, the hospital had been functioning without any oxygen cylinders for two hours. The Uttar Pradesh government says it had cleared the payment for the vendor on August 7 but the funds were not released by hospital authorities  till August 11.

Chief Minister Adityanath, on his visit yesterday, said that just a day before oxygen supply was disrupted he was in the region but no one informed him that there was a crisis. Yogi Adityanath has represented Gorakhpur in Lok Sabha for almost 20 years.

Police say no case has been registered so far in the absence of a formal complaint.