Ballari maternal deaths: Shobha Karandlaje demands Dinesh Gundu Rao resignation

New Delhi: Terming maternal deaths in Ballari district hospital due to use of substandard ringer lactate solution "just a tip of ice berg for corruption" in the state health department, Union Minister of State for Labour Shobha Karandlaje on Saturday demanded the resignation of Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao. 

Alleging that the supply of sub-standard  medicines to the government hospital was common in the state, the Union Minister said that the without the involvement of ministers and top officials this will not happened. 

"There is huge nexus between pharma companies and ministers and officials and massive corruption taking place in supplying of medicines to the government hospitals," she said. 

Pointing out that during Lokayukta visit to K C General Hospital in Bengaluru exposed quality of service provided by the government hospital to poor, the Minister said the Congress Government fully responsible for death of several people in government  hospitals mostly in Central and North Karnataka region in recent days. 

The state government had hidden the report submitted by the expert committee that probed the recent deaths in the Ballari hospital.

Neither Chief Minister Siddaramaiah nor Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar expressed their condolences [for the deaths], let alone took action in the case that shook the entire stata, she said.