Bhubaneswar, Mar 30 (PTI) Members of around 10 opposition parties, including the BJD, Congress and CPI(M), staged a protest in Bhubaneswar on Monday, demanding the resignation of Odisha Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling over the death of 12 patients in the fire at the state-run hospital in Cuttack.
Several MLAs joined the demonstration held at the Lower PMG area.
“We demand the resignation of the health minister on moral grounds and the immediate arrest of those responsible for the massive fire incident at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in the early hours of March 16,” BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra said.
Senior BJD leader Arun Kumar Sahoo said all opposition parties in the state were united in demanding Mahaling’s removal from the cabinet, holding him morally accountable for the deaths.
Cuttack Mayor Subhash Singh said a similar precedent existed during the previous BJD regime.
“When a fire accident happened at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar during the BJD government, the then health minister had resigned. Why should the present health minister not discharge his moral responsibility,” he asked.
Senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik said the Cuttack fire was not a minor or isolated episode, and stressed the importance of political accountability.
“It is true that the health minister is not solely responsible for the incident. However, he should step down on moral grounds. Otherwise, the government should remove him,” Patnaik said.
A Left leader described the incident as an “institutional killing” and demanded strong legal action against the hospital superintendent, along with compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased.
Responding to the allegations, BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal said the state government has taken the incident seriously and has already ordered a judicial inquiry.
He also alleged that the opposition was staging a “political drama” following the recent Rajya Sabha election in which the joint BJD-Congress candidate was defeated.
Among the other parties that joined the demonstration were NCP, RJD, Samajwadi Party, Samatakranti Dal and Forward Bloc. PTI BBM BBM SOM
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