BJP women MPs visit Kota hospital to probe children deaths

As 91 children died at J.K. Lon Hospital in Kota this month, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) women MP's team visited it on Tuesday to inspect wards and intensive care unit (ICU), while the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) issued a show-case notice to the Rajasthan Medical and Education Department and summoned the District Chief Medical Officer (CMO) B.S. Tanwar to appear before it in person in Delhi on January 3.

The MPs' team, set up by BJP working chief J.P. Nadda on Monday, included Locket Chatterjee from West Bengal, Jaskaur Meena from Dausa and Kanta Kardam from Meerut.

They met the family of deceased and pointed to many lacunae after inspecting the hospital's wards. The family members told MPs the hospital didn't look after their kids, which caused their death.

Chatterjee said mother of a deceased said the doctor didn't visit the kid, and three children were lying on the same bed.

The MP alleged while the Rajasthan Chief Minister went to Jharkhand to celebrate poll win, the state Health Minister was yet to visit Kota. Rahul Gandhi also didn't utter a word and might have gone to Italy for New Year celebrations, Chatterjee added.

"It's trauma for all mothers who lost their kids," the MP from West Bengal said.

Meena said the hospital's negligence had come to fore. Even after a week of deaths, the situation at the hospital continued to be the same. "If two kids are lying on a warmer together, how could the infection be checked," she asked.

Kardam claimed a distressed mother told her that doctors asked her to leave as her child was about to die. "There can't be anything cruel than this. How can a doctor behave like this with a patient and his family," Kardam said.

The hospital was in a dilapidated condition with open windows, she said and added, why Ministers were not getting it renovated.

The women MPs were surprised to see the dirt and filth, milling crowd of patients and their families and non-functioning medical equipments.

Meena said they would submit a detailed report to Nadda and the Union Government.

Meanwhile, Congress workers formed a human chain at the Collectorate circling the visiting BJP leaders for politicising the infant deaths.

An inquiry has been ordered into deaths of 77 children by NCPCR, headed by Priyank Kanungoo. The district CMP Tanwar has been summoned to explain reasons for not sharing the action-taken report with the commission with relevant documents.

The NCPCR has also asked Medical Education Secretary Vaibhav Galeria to submit a detailed report on deaths within three days.

Meanwhile, Suresh Dulara, new hospital superintendent, confirmed 14 kids died between December 25 and December 29 at NICU and PICU of the hospital. It included 6 new-born kids, Dulara said.

On Monday, a committee set up by state government stated in its report that the spread of infections led to deaths. Also, as there was no oxygen pipeline in the neonatal ICU, oxygen was supplied in cylinders, which contributed to the spread of infection, it said.IANS