Gorakhpur tragedy: AAP seeks murder charges against CM Yogi Adityanath, officials
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)
The firm entrusted with supplying liquid oxygen to Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College had in April informed the Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s office about pending dues, the AAP claimed on Monday. The party released two letters, purportedly written by Pushpa Sales Pvt Ltd, to establish its claim, and demanded that murder charges be pressed against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and top officials for the death of 30 children in two days.
The agency had way back in April 6 flagged the issue of the college owing a huge amount to it with the CMO, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said.
The agency sent as many as eight reminders to get its pending dues, of around Rs 67 lakh, cleared, Singh said, quoting a August 9 letter from the agency director Manish Bhandari to UP Medical Education Minister Ashutosh Tandon.
However, the Yogi Adityanath government has been claiming that the shortage of oxygen was not responsible for the recent deaths of at least 30 infants at the state-run facility.
According to the letters shared by the AAP, the agency clearly wrote that the round-the-clock availability of oxygen through the facility’s central pipeline was crucial for the patients of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome or other life-threatening diseases.
“It was a criminal act. There is not an iota of doubt that the children died to the government’s criminal negligence. Cases of murder should be registered against the chief minister, health minister and other top officials involved,” he said.
According to one of the letters, the agency sent reminders about dues on April 6, April 17, May 2, May 16, June 13, July 6, July 18 and July 31.
“The UP government talks about temples, ambulances for cows. The prime minister has all the time to tweet about happenings around the world, but he has no time to spare a word on the Gorakhpur tragedy,” he added.
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