A News18.com report on deaths of 18 children in Uzbekistan allegedly due to the consumption of Made-in-India medicinal syrups triggered a political blame-game between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress on Thursday.
As per reports on Uzbekistan’s local news website, AKI.com, tablets and syrup, ‘Dok-1 Max’, manufactured by the Uttar Pradesh-based Marion Biotech, are allegedly behind the deaths of several children. These kids were hospitalised with acute respiratory diseases, the report said.
The press report quoted Uzbekistan’s health ministry’s primary laboratory studies which showed the presence of ethylene glycol—the deadly chemical which was held responsible for deaths in the Gambia—in the Dok-1 Max syrup.
Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the Narendra Modi government “must stop boasting about India being a pharmacy to the world & take strictest action."
Made in India cough syrups seem to be deadly. First it was the deaths of 70 kids in Gambia & now it is that of 18 children in Uzbekistan. Modi Sarkar must stop boasting about India being a pharmacy to the world & take strictest action.— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 29, 2022
Hitting back at Jairam Ramesh, BJP leader Amit Malviya said the Gambian authorities and Drugs Controller General of India had clarified that the deaths in Gambia “had nothing to do with the consumption of cough syrup made in India".
“But blinded in its hate for Modi, Congress continues to deride India and its entrepreneurial spirit. Shameful…," Malviya tweeted.
The death of children in Gambia had nothing to do with the consumption of cough syrup made in India. That has been clarified by the Gambian authorities and DCGI, both. But blinded in its hate for Modi, Congress continues to deride India and its entrepreneurial spirit. Shameful… https://t.co/BKVQw5qskI— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 29, 2022
WHO Assisting Probe
A response from the World Health Organization to an email sent by News18.com said: “WHO is in contact with health authorities in Uzbekistan and is ready to assist in further investigations".
Mails sent to Marion Biotech and Uzbekistan’s health ministry did not fetch any response. A text message dropped to two spokespersons of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is yet to elicit a reaction. This report will be updated as soon as any of them sends a reply.
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