Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma on Wednesday accused the BJP of doing politics over deaths of children at a hospital in Kota and said adequate funds were not provided for medical facilities when the party was in power.
Talking to the media here, Sharma said the Congress government in the state had brought down child mortality rate.
"BJP's politics over the death of children in Kota is directed by PMO. They don't have anything else to cover-up over the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In 2015, 2016 and 2017 when BJP was in power, hospital authority had sought funds, Why wasn't money released then?" Sharma asked.
"Even if one child dies, it is a cause of concern for us. But BJP is doing politics on this issue. When BJP was in power in the state, the infant mortality rate (IMR) was 7.62 per cent. We have brought it down to 5.5 per cent. We have also brought down the maternal mortality rate," he added.
Ten newborns had died in 48 hours at a maternal and child hospital in Kota last week raising an alarm. According to a hospital official, 77 children had died in the premises in December.