‘Not an accident, outright murder’: Rahul Gandhi on MP hospital incident

Indore, Sep 4 Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, slammed the Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday over the incident in which two newborn babies were bitten by rodents, resulting in the death of one newborn.

“In Indore, at Madhya Pradesh’s largest government hospital, two newborn babies died after being bitten by rats - this is not an accident, this is outright murder. The incident is so horrifying, inhuman, and insensitive that even hearing about it sends shivers down the spine,” LoP Rahul Gandhi wrote in a lengthy post on X over the incident.

LoP Rahul Gandhi said that a mother lost her child from her arms, simply because the government failed to fulfil its most basic responsibility.

“The healthcare sector has been deliberately handed over to private hands, where treatment is now only for the rich, and government hospitals have turned from life-saving institutions into death traps for the poor,” he said.

LoP Rahul Gandhi further criticised the state government, asserting that as always, the administration says, “There will be an investigation” - but the real question is: when you can’t even ensure the safety of newborn babies, what right do you have to run a government?

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Minister should hang their “heads in shame.”

“Your government has snatched away the right to healthcare from millions of poor citizens - and now, even the child from a mother’s lap is being taken away,” he said.

“Modi ji, this voice is rising on behalf of those lakhs of parents who are victims of government negligence today. What will your response be?” LoP Rahul Gandhi concluded.

On Tuesday, in a shocking incident, rodents bit two newborn babies inside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward of M. Y. Hospital in Madhya Pradesh, in which one newborn (baby girl) died, exposing the gross negligence at the government-run health system in the state.

The babies were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maharaja Yashwantrao Chikitsalaya (MYH), one of the biggest government hospitals in the state.

The incident came to light when the nursing team of the hospital saw the injured newborns and informed the hospital management. The administration then scanned CCTV cameras installed in the unit and found rats jumping in a swing near the newborns.

Following the shocking incident, a committee comprising six doctors was set up to investigate the matter and submit its report within the next week.

Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who also heads the state's Health Department, told IANS that an inquiry has been ordered into the matter.

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