Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA questions own government on deaths caused by oxygen shortage

'Hundreds died owing to oxygen shortage....no one feels the pain and anguish of MLA Raj Kumar Agarwal and lakhs others,' Shyam Prakash said

The BJP was left red-faced when one of its own legislators sought to dismiss the NDA government's claim that no deaths were caused by shortage of oxygen in the country.

Shyam Prakash, BJP MLA from Gopamau seat in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district, said that hundreds had died owing to the shortage of oxygen when the second wave of Covid-19 was ravaging the country.

''Hundreds died owing to oxygen shortage....no one feels the pain and anguish of MLA Raj Kumar Agarwal and lakhs others,'' Shyam Prakash wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.

Read | No specific reports of deaths due to oxygen shortage during second Covid-19 wave: Centre

Agarwal, who was also a BJP MLA from Hardoi, lost his son to Covid-19 a few months back. Agarwal had then alleged that the hospital where his son was admitted ran out of oxygen, which led to his son's death. He had also lodged a complaint with the police in that regard.

Union Minister of State for Health Dr Bharti Praveen Pawar had a few days back said in a written reply in the Parliament that no deaths due to shortage of oxygen had been specifically reported by the states and UTs.

The statement triggered sharp reactions from the opposition parties.