Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi lashed out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his 'picnic spot' comment on Saturday and said that the Uttar Pradesh Government has made a joke of the deaths of over 70 children at the Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical Hospital in Gorakhpur.
"I completely agree with the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister that the hospital is not a picnic spot, but is a place where children died. It is a place of virtual murder and the state government has failed to answer for the situation," he said.
"It is such a serious situation and the Uttar Pradesh Government and the Chief Minister has made a joke of such kind of situation. They have insulted the deaths of children which is highly objectionable," he added.
Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath hit out at Rahul Gandhi over his Gorakhpur visit, saying the "yuvraj (prince) sitting in Delhi" cannot be permitted to make Gorakhpur "a picnic spot".
Over 70 children have died at BRD hospital in the past week as it allegedly ran out of medical supplies because of unpaid bills, triggering anger across the country.
Reportedly, the head of the hospital's Anesthesia department has been primarily held responsible for the crisis.