Kottayam, Kerala: Kerala Health Minister Veena George is under increasing pressure to quit after a woman died after a portion of a building fell at Kottayam Medical College Hospital on Thursday.
While the opposition Congress-led UDF called for her resignation, citing major lapses in rescue efforts and greater shortcomings in the state's public health system, the BJP stated that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan "is no longer fit to remain in his position even for a moment" and must resign.
Bindu, the mother of a patient, was found dead under the debris two and a half hours after a section of the old hospital building collapsed.
While two others, including an 11-year-old girl, were injured and quickly admitted to the hospital's casualty ward, rescue efforts to locate Bindu were reportedly delayed.
UDF leaders accused the minister and her colleague, Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan, of "prematurely declaring" that no one was trapped in the debris, which they said delayed rescue work.
"Even when bystanders and relatives said people were using the space and someone was missing, the ministers insisted it was empty," Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, said at a press briefing in Thiruvananthapuram.
"That false announcement stopped the rescue. A family lost their mother because of it," the Congress leader alleged.
Satheesan said patients and their relatives had been using the toilets in that section regularly, that too on the morning of the incident.
"If it was truly closed, how did a woman get trapped inside? The minister must take moral responsibility and resign," he said.
In a strongly worded statement, BJP State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar alleged that the government initially tried to downplay the incident by claiming the collapsed section was an unused part of the hospital.
"If that is the case, the government must explain how someone lost their life," he said.
Chandrasekhar said the health department has a duty to ensure the safety of patients visiting hospitals.
"If the building posed a danger, why were warning signs not posted and access not restricted? The administration owes the people an explanation," he added.
Justifying her initial statement, George said that it was based on information provided by officials.
The minister said whatever she explained earlier was based on what officials, including the superintendent, told her at the time.
George said the Kottayam district collector will now investigate the incident.
According to the minister, it was a closed block that collapsed.
"A decision had already been taken on May 30 to shift to a new building, and the move was scheduled to be completed by July 31," she said.
She further said that the building had been declared unsafe in 2013.
AICC General Secretary and Alappuzha MP K C Venugopal called for an inquiry into the delay in rescue operations following the building collapse at Kottayam Medical College, which led to the loss of a life.
He said that Health Minister George and Minister Vasavan, who arrived at the scene, should have assessed the situation properly and only then stated that there was no one inside the collapsed structure -- after urgent rescue efforts had been carried out.
"Instead, their premature statements caused a delay in the rescue operation. Had action been taken swiftly, the life of a poor woman could have been saved," he said.
"This was a grave error on the part of the ministers. It is truly unfortunate that an innocent woman lost her life," Venugopal said in a statement.
Meanwhile, opposition parties, including the Congress, Muslim League, and their youth and women's wings, held protests across the state demanding the resignation of George.
Police used force to disperse protesting activists of the opposition outfits in several places, including Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
Amid mounting protests, Chief Minister Vijayan visited the Kottayam Government Medical College and assessed the situation.
He was accompanied by Ministers Vasavan and George, Health Department Additional Chief Secretary Rajan Khobragade, District Collector John V Samuel, and senior police officials.
With PTI inputs