Gorakhpur Child Deaths 'A Tragedy, A Mistake,' Says Amit Shah: 10 Points

Since last week, 72 children have died at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur. (PTI)

Highlights

It is the Congress' job to ask for resignations, Amit Shah said
Yogi Adityanath will be in Gorakhpur to oversee Janamashtmi celebrations
72 children have died at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College

New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah today said the death of 72 children in the last week at a Gorakhpur hospital is "a tragedy, a mistake that happened at some level, but you cannot deny our aim to help," dismissing demands by opposition parties that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of his party must resign. Nine children have died in the last 24 hours at the Gorakhpur hospital, and the National Human Rights Commission has sought a report from the UP government within four weeks.

Here are the 10 developments in the Gorakhpur tragedy:

"It is the Congress' job to ask for resignations. In such a big country tragedies have happened before and have happened during Congress rule as well," the BJP chief said when where he was asked about the tragic Gorakhpur child deaths at a press conference in Karnataka, adding, "We had ordered a time bound probe. We will make the details public once we get report."
Amit Shah also countered criticism over Krishna Janamashtmi celebrations in UP, saying, "Janamashtmi is a matter of people's personal belief and faith, it is not a government festival."
Yogi Adityanath has been criticised for ordering the state's police to organise grand celebrations for the Krishna Janamashtmi festival when UP is mourning the death of the children in Gorakhpur. The chief minister will be in Gorakhpur tonight to oversee the celebrations at the Gorakhnath Math of which he is head priest.
"Krishna Janmashtami is an important festival and the police should organise it in a traditional, grand and decent manner," the Chief Minister said in a written order to UP police chief Sulkhan Singh.The police chief has directed his force to follow the Chief Minister's instruction.
"This is ironical, tragic and in some ways reflective of the mindset of powers that be... They will go ahead with their agenda even in the wake of tragedies of such magnitude," said Vaibhav Maheshwari, spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Since last week, 72 children have died at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College, the biggest hospital in Gorakhpur, which is also the Chief Minister's hometown and parliamentary constituency.
Some parents have alleged that their children died because oxygen supply was disrupted at the hospital on Thursday last, when 23 children died. Supply of liquid oxygen for children critically ill with encephalitis and premature newborns in the neo-natal ward ran out on because a vendor's bills had not been paid.
The Yogi Adityanath government has emphatically denied any deaths because of the oxygen shortage, saying the disruption lasted only two hours and oxygen was arranged from other sources.
Chief Minister Adityanath has ordered an investigation and has promised "standard-setting" punishment for anyone found guilty of negligence. The hospital's medical chief Rajeev Mishra and head paediatrician Kafeel Khan have been fired, a move criticised by doctors at Delhi's AIIMS, who said Dr Khan was being made the "scapegoat."
Inside the hospital wards, where the media was allowed yesterday, the condition was found to be unhygienic. Less than 50 m from the ICU, where many children have been admitted with encephalitis, there were puddles of water where mosquitoes were breeding. The wards were untidy and dusty. In some cases, even medicine bottles had been left open.