Alleges corruption against BJP governments
The Sunday Mail
New Delhi. Congress has accused the BJP governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh of corruption and demanded a judicial inquiry into the deaths of children due to cough syrup.
At a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Indira Bhawan, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Tikaram Julie, and Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Umang Singhar, stated that there has been massive corruption in the purchase of medicines in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Tikaram Julie stated that four deaths have occurred so far due to cough syrup in Rajasthan. He said that the Rajasthan government is not ready to accept the deaths of children due to cough syrup. The Health Minister in Rajasthan denied any irregularities in the cough syrup. He questioned why governments are purchasing medicines from companies that have been blacklisted or whose credibility has already been questioned. He alleged that instead of taking action, the BJP government has merely formed a committee whose purpose is to divert and hush up the matter. Tikaram Julie said that the Rajasthan government has not yet issued any orders to ban cough syrups at the grassroots level, nor has it conducted any survey to determine who was given the syrup, despite the availability of online records. He also mentioned the fire in the ICU of SMS Hospital in Jaipur, which killed eight people. He alleged that the hospital staff fled the scene instead of fulfilling their responsibility to evacuate patients, and that the Health Minister arrived at the hospital 24 hours after the fire.
Umang Singhar, meanwhile, said that 16 children died due to cough syrup in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. The local MLA initially wrote a letter to the Chief Minister, Health Minister, and Collector demanding an investigation, but no action was taken. He also criticized the Chief Minister for enjoying himself with elephants in Kaziranga Park amid the deaths of children. He said that the Deputy Chief Minister claimed no deaths were caused by cough syrup and gave a clean chit to the company that manufactured the syrup.
He stated that despite the deaths of children due to kidney failure, relevant tests were not conducted. He questioned whether pharmaceutical companies, in collusion with the government, were conducting business in tribal areas and small districts like Parasia. He also pointed out that the Government of India issued an advisory regarding cough syrups on October 3, 2025, but despite this, the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan failed to take action. He attributed this to rampant corruption. He also demanded that the government provide a job to each member of the affected families, along with compensation for the cost of treatment.
Singhar cited the disturbing incident of rats eating newborn babies in a hospital in Madhya Pradesh and also raised the issue of malnutrition in the state, which is higher than the national average. He pointed to widespread corruption in the Nutrition Diet Scheme. He also criticized the state government for the increasing crimes against children.
