Oppn: CPM coming up with 'justification capsules'

Thrissur/T'puram: Opposition leader V D Satheesan on Saturday asserted that Congress would continue agitations demanding the resignation of health minister Veena George in the backdrop of a woman's death in the building collapse on Kottayam medical college premises.

Speaking with the media in Chalakudy, Satheesan alleged that CPM leaders were coming up with several ‘justification capsules' even though state's health system was on ventilator and the minister was in the dock (where accused are put in courts). "The health minister has been repeating mistakes one after the other and has been mouthing what PR agencies had briefed," he said.

"Opposition hadn't started criticising health department just after Bindu's death (Kottayam MCH) or after the ‘exposes' by Dr Haris Chirakkal (Thiruvananthapuram MCH). We had been exposing govt for fleecing crores of rupees by selling medicines, which are past expiry dates, through medical services corporation. This govt concealed 27,000 Covid deaths and launched PR propaganda claiming that Kerala was the best state in the world in handling Covid pandemic. The state now has the highest score in the spread of infectious diseases," he alleged.

Dismissing criticisms that opposition leaders have become ‘peddlers of death', Satheesan said CPM leaders deserved that description.

Health deparment a den of corruption: Ramesh

Senior Congress functionary Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday sharply criticised health minister Veena George, calling her incompetent and one who caused serious lapses in the health sector. The chief minister should have sought Veena's resignation before he travelled to the US, he added.

"Kerala's health department has turned into a den of corruption and mismanagement, where the lives of ordinary people are undervalued. Most ordinary people rely on govt hospitals. The comptroller and auditor general's report submitted in the assembly on Jan 22, 2025, reveals the extent of deterioration in Kerala's health sector, said Ramesh.

"The report highlights that expired medicines were purchased in large quantities and distributed through govt hospitals. These medicines, which wholesalers return to medical stores, were bought by govt for crores of rupees, benefiting companies and intermediaries with huge profits and commissions," he said.

An independent agency should investigate the corruption and commission transactions in the health department, he demanded.