Sachin Pilot slams own govt over infant deaths in Kota

After opposition parties slammed the ruling Congress government in Rajasthan over infant deaths in Congress, Rajasthan Deputy Sachin Pilot openly criticised his own party over the incident.

Sachin Pilot, who also holds the portfolio of Rajasthan Congress President, on Saturday slammed the Rajasthan Congress government for handling of the deaths of over 100 infants in Kota's JK Lon Hospital.

Pilot, who visited the hospital and met victims, told reporters that the government could have been more sensitive in its response and there is no point blaming the previous government.

“I think our response to Kota infants’ deaths could have been more compassionate and sensitive,” Pilot told reporters.

“After being in power for 13 months I think it serves no purpose to blame the previous government’s misdeeds. Accountability should be fixed", Pilot said.

"We have to fix responsibility. People voted out former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for her wrongs. But now it’s our responsibility", he added.

This is for the first time a Congress leader has openly criticised the Congress's own government in Rajasthan. "Instead of weaving a web of numbers, the government should focus on the present and fix responsibility. So many children have died," Pilot said at a Press Conference.

The Congress government of Ashok Gehlot had come under fire from the opposition for running the JK Lon hospital without proper infrastructure. Another criticism has been on sheer carelessness of health minister Raghu Sharma for not visiting the hospital after the first report of 10 infant deaths came on December 23 and 24. However, the minister visited Kota on Friday.

The deaths caught nationwide attention after Lok Sabha Speaker and Kota MP Om Birla tweeted and later visited his constituency Kota and met the families of infants who died at the hospital. The death toll at JK Lon Hospital here has risen to 107 till Saturday.

On Friday, the National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to Rajasthan Chief Secretary Devendra Bhushan Gupta, asking him to submit a detailed report within four weeks on steps taken to resolve the matter. It also asked Gupta to ensure that such deaths do not recur in the future due to lack of facilities.