Odisha Assembly deadlock: LoP Patnaik reiterates demand for Health Minister’s resignation over SCB fire deaths
Bhubaneswar: Amid the ongoing deadlock in the Odisha Assembly, Leader of Opposition (LoP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President, Naveen Patnaik, on Tuesday reiterated his party’s demand for the immediate resignation of State Health Minister, Dr Mukesh Mahaling over the fire at the Trauma Care ICU of SCB Medical College and Hospital, in which at least 12 patients lost their lives and several others sustained serious burn injuries.
Speaking to the media, the former Chief Minister also expressed his disbelief that nine days have passed since the tragic fire in Cuttack on March 16 in the SCB Hospital, yet not a single Union Minister has visited the facility.
“I find it shocking that even after nine days of the terrible deaths of patients at the SCB Medical College and Hospital, not a single Union Minister has visited the hospital at Cuttack. This is truly shocking. During the tragedy that took place at a private medical college during our government’s tenure, several Union ministers visited the hospital. You can compare for yourselves their concerns for the people of Odisha who died in such a horrific accident,” said Patnaik.
Reiterating his party’s stance, Patnaik demanded the immediate resignation of the Odisha Health Minister, Dr. Mukesh Mahaling. The former Chief Minister also confirmed that the BJD would not back down, stating, “Certainly, the BJD will continue its agitation.”
Meanwhile, the House could not function properly on Tuesday as well, as Opposition Congress and BJD members, holding placards and banners, continued their noisy demonstration near the Speaker’s podium, demanding the resignation of the Health Minister and stringent action against the then superintendent of SCB Medical College and Hospital.
Although Speaker Surama Padhy tried to run the House smoothly, she was forced to order multiple adjournments due to the pandemonium, eventually adjourning the House till 4 PM.
Notably, despite the Speaker calling several all-party meetings for the last couple of days, it has not yielded any results. The Opposition BJD and Congress have been stalling the House over the SCB Hospital fire tragedy since March 17.
On the other hand, the ruling BJP targeted the Opposition BJD, alleging that the regional party, in order to divert attention from the controversy surrounding the Biju-Naveen Inspirational Trust, has been deliberately disrupting the House and thereby wasting taxpayers’ money.