Cong corners Khattar for ‘misleading’ House
CM says he will make a statement on the issue on Tuesday; leader of opposition asks him to either withdraw statement or assert it’s correct
CHANDIGARH : Accusing chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar of misleading the state assembly on the issue of deaths due to shortage of oxygen, the opposition Congress MLAs on Monday demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter. The Congress MLAs later staged a walkout after their pleas to have a discussion on the three farm laws were rejected by the speaker on the grounds that the matter was subjudice.
Raising the issue of deaths due to oxygen shortage, leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda attacked Khattar during the zero-hour saying that the chief minister should withdraw his Friday statement that there were no deaths due to shortage of oxygen in the state.
“I am not blaming anyone. But my point is that how can a misleading statement on the floor of the House be made. Just think of those who perished due to shortage of oxygen during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Will this denial do any good for the departed souls,’’ Hooda said.
When the CM said he will make a statement on the issue on Tuesday, the leader of the opposition said that Khattar should either withdraw his previous statement or assert that it was correct. When speaker Gian Chand Gupta told Hooda that a reply cannot be given by the government during zero hour, the leader of opposition said: “I do not want a reply. But I want this to be recorded that the chief minister made a wrong statement on the floor of the House.”
The chief minister later assured the House that a committee will be formed to investigate complaints received against hospitals for showing negligence in giving required treatment during the pandemic and strict action will be taken. Khattar said that irregularities were reported in the functioning of certain hospitals of Hisar, Rewari and Gurugram districts and magisterial inquiries were conducted for all such complaints received. “As per the findings of the inquiries, no deaths were reported from Rewari and Gurugram hospitals due to shortage of oxygen. However, negligence by Soni Burns hospital in Hisar was detected during an inquiry. The probe report has been sent to the Hisar superintendent of police for action,’’ Khattar said. The Chief Minister said that some hospitals admitted more patients than their capacity during the peak of the second wave of the pandemic. “In Hisar’s Soni Burns Hospital where the matter of negligence came to light, the consumption had reached 80 cylinders per day while the number of cylinders available with the hospital was 20,” Khattar said.
The CM also informed the House that about 13,000 people died due to Covid-19 in hospitals across the state. Of these, about 9,500 were residents of Haryana, while about 3,500 were patients from other states.
Students to get money in place of books: Minister
Education minister Kanwar Pal informed the House that ₹250 per student from Classes 1 to 5 and ₹400 per student from Classes 6 to 8 will soon be transferred to the accounts of the students through the DBT system in lieu of free textbooks.
The process of verification of the bank accounts of students has been completed, he said.