Row over VIP welcome for health minister at Jhansi medical college amid cries of grieving parent

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav attacked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the incident and asked him to cancel his election tour program and focus on improving the health system in the state.

Lucknow: A row has erupted in Uttar Pradesh over alleged preparations by the officials of Jhansi Medical College, where ten newborns died in a fire at the NICU late on Thursday night, to welcome UP health minister Brajesh Pathak on Friday morning even as several parents, angry after being denied permission to meet the survivors, protested outside the hospital.

According to the sources, a section of the Medical College administration was busy in an apparent clean up job upon getting the information that the health minister was reaching around dawn on Friday.

Videos showed lime being sprinkled on the roads in front of the Medical College and also inside the premises.

While Pathak, upon getting to know about the cleanup job, said that he would ensure stern action against the erring officials, the opposition slammed the BJP government over the incident.

In a post on its official 'X' (formerly Twitter) handle, the Congress sharply criticised what it termed 'insensitivity' and 'apathetic attitude' of the BJP government in the state.

"Just see the insensitivity and apathetic attitude of the BJP government.... while the parents of the children who perished in the fire, were crying, the administration was busy sprinkling lime on the road to welcome the deputy CM... the attendants say that the hospital was cleaned before the arrival of the minister," Congress said in its post.

Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav attacked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the incident and asked him to cancel his election tour program and focus on improving the health system in the state.

''We can't expect anything from the health minister who is busy in criticising the opposition rather than paying attention toward improving the health care system,'' he said.