Member of Parliament Mahesh Jethmalani on December 30 tore into Congress for turning the death of children in Uzbekistan into a political issue. Taking to Twitter, Jethmalani called the denigration of India’s pharma industry by Jairam Ramesh as ‘natural’. Jethmalani called Congress a ‘Sinophile’, and Ramesh a ‘mouthpiece of Chinese disinformation’, highlighting the backdrop of ‘China’s crisis’ and ‘India’s success’ with regard to COVID-19.
Speaking to Republic Media Network, Jethmalani said, “Their public stand on so many issues on China is known to everybody- starting from the MoU, their frequent rants denigrating the army every time there is a skirmish with Chinese Army on our borders. I can give you a number of examples but I thought yesterday’s tweet by Jairam Ramesh was so unnecessary and obviously so motivated.”
The MP further said, “I mean who would slam an entire industry, the entire pharma industry, which is you know one of our potent growth sectors and driving our growth story and on the basis of a cough sector, which allegedly and falsely as we now know causing children’s deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan. Who would slam the entire industry? What is the game? What is the need for this kind of completely wild allegations denigrating your own country? Where does your loyalty lie Mr. Ramesh, please explain this?”
Congress blames ‘Made-in-India cough syrups’
Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government for boasting about India being a pharmacy to the world, Congress’ General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh claimed that Made-in-India cough syrups were deadly. “First it was the deaths of 70 kids in Gambia and now it is that of 18 children in Uzbekistan. Modi Sarkar must stop boasting about India being a pharmacy to the world & take the strictest action,” he wrote.
The Uzbekistan Health Ministry has claimed that 18 children have died after consuming a cough syrup manufactured by Noida-based Marion Biotech. The Ministry said that 18 out of 21 children who took the Doc-1 Max syrup while suffering from an acute respiratory disease died after consuming it.
Prior to this, 66 children had died in Gambia allegedly after consuming cough syrups manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited. However, later, both Uzbekistan and Gambian governments denied any link between child deaths and the Indian cough syrups.
Source : RepublicWord
