Congress, BJP Stage Protests In Kerala Seeking Minister Veena George's Resignation
Various wings of parties in the Congress-led UDF and the BJP staged widespread protests in Kerala on Saturday seeking the resignation of state Health Minister Veena George over the death of a woman when a portion of the Kottayam Medical College building collapsed two days ago.
Amidst the protests, state Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan came to the defence of his cabinet colleague by asking why she should resign if a portion of the building collapsed.
"When 11 people died in Bengaluru during a stampede at a cricket-related event there, did anyone ask for the resignation of any of the ministers there? "If an aircraft crashes do you ask for the Prime Minister's resignation? If there is a road accident, should the Road Transport Minister resign? The Health Minister did not bring the building down," he said, defending George.
Vasavan also termed the incident as "unfortunate" and said steps had been taken in advance to prevent such an incident from happening.
During the day, activists of the Youth Congress, Kerala Students Union (KSU), Mahila Congress, Youth League, and the BJP held protests in the state capital and various other cities, including Palakkad, Kochi, Kollam, Kannur, and Mananthavady, seeking the Health Minister's resignation.
Protesters marched to the offices of the District Collector or the District Medical Officer (DMO) in many places and confronted the police and water cannons.
In the state capital, Youth Congress activists marched to the official residence of George, and police used water cannons to disperse the protestors.
Similar scenes were witnessed in many other cities of the state, including Wayanad, where Youth Congress activists tried to place a wreath in the office of the DMO there.
In Pathanamthitta, BJP workers marched to the family residence of the health minister and tried to bring down the barricades placed by police to stop them.
Activists of the saffron party also held a protest march to the Kozhikode medical college and shouted slogans against the minister.
In many places, police had to forcefully remove the protestors after several rounds of water cannons could not disperse them.
In Palakkad, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, while launching a protest by the Mahila Congress against George, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ought to have sought the Health Minister's resignation before going abroad in view of her alleged "inefficiency", "indifference", and "grave mistakes".
As part of their protest, the Mahila Congress workers tied their mouths with a black cloth and carried banners and placards seeking George's resignation.
He told reporters that while he was not against the CM going abroad for medical treatment, he expected Vijayan to seek her resignation.
"I thought the government would consider the fact that the poor people cannot go to the US or UK for treatment," he said.
He also criticised CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan for his remark, a day ago, that the protests were being carried out on the directions of Sunil Kanugolu, the election strategist of the Congress party.
Chennithala pointed out that even before the protests, a government doctor of the Thiruvananthapuram government medical college made clear allegations against the health department.
He also alleged that the Left government has destroyed the health sector in the state during its nine-year rule and asked, "So, are the protests unnecessary?" Similar allegations were made by the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, V D Satheesan, who reiterated the demand for George's resignation.
Satheesan also alleged that there was "huge corruption" and "mismanagement" in the health department, which was only doing "PR and propaganda work." He claimed that the Health Department was "on a ventilator" and that George was responsible for it.
The opposition leader claimed that the Left party and the government were trying to protect the minister.
The protestors alleged that the minister was responsible for the death of 52-year-old Bindu and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.
At Kozhikode, the Youth League held a protest seeking George's resignation. Youth Congress activists also held a protest outside the Palakkad District Collectorate, demanding George's resignation and shouting slogans against her.
They also managed to enter the Collectorate compound, before many of them were forcibly removed from there by police.
Bindu (52) died, and three others, Aleena (11), Amal Pradeep (20), and Jinu Saji (38) were injured in the incident.
Congress, the BJP, and their various wings held protests in various parts of the state on Friday as well.
While the Congress and BJP termed the death as "tantamount to murder", state Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan said such allegations were "politically motivated".
Later in the day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government will strengthen all precautionary measures to ensure that such "unfortunate and painful" incidents do not recur.
The toilet complex adjacent to wards 10, 11, and 14 at Kottayam Government Medical College collapsed on Thursday while the hospital was in the process of fully shifting operations to the newly constructed surgical block.
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