06 October,2023 05:18 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Chandrashekhar Bawankule. File Pic
Maharashtra hospital deaths: Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Friday hit back at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray after his attack on the Eknath Shinde government on deaths in state-run hospitals by alleging the former chief minister did not desist from taking a cut in the procurement of body bags, reported the PTI.
The BJP had, during the Covid-19 pandemic, accused the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of buying body bags at inflated prices and had alleged kickbacks in such procurement.
In a post on social media site X, Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that when patients were dying due to lack of oxygen (during the pandemic), Uddhav Thackeray was engrossed in distributing tenders.
Asking Uddhav Thackeray to recall the "loot" when he was chief minister of Maharashtra, Bawankule said, "You did not even spare taking a cut from procurement of bags for the dead bodies."
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Leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) are under the scanner for alleged irregularities in procurement during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Uddhav Thackeray's criticism that CM Eknath Shinde did not visit the kin of those who died in government-run hospitals, Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the Shiv Sena (UBT) head as CM ran the government from home.
Uddhav Thackeray attacked the Eknath Shinde government on Friday over the death of several patients in some state-run hospitals in a short time, alleging people were losing lives due to its corrupt governance.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackeray also alleged there was an "outbreak of corruption", adding the government had money for advertisements but no funds to save the lives of people, according to the PTI.
The former state chief minister also accused the government of procuring medicines without any tendering process, and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into it.
"If that (medicine procurement without tenders) is going to happen, then you are opening the doors for corruption. People are losing lives because of corrupt governance," Uddhav Thackeray alleged, as per the PTI.
"There should be a CBI probe wherever medicines did not reach...or is there anyone's middlemen involved there?" he asked.
Thirty-one patients, including infants, died at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded in 48 hours since September 30, while the death of 41 patients was recorded at the Government Medical College and Hospital at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar between October 2 and 3.
