Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh have blamed the Yogi Adityanath government for the tragic death of 10 newborns in a fire that broke out in Jhansi on Friday night.

The political leaders demanded compensation for the families of the deceased children and action against the guilty.

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav expressed deep concern over the death of the children and injury caused to many others in the fire at the Jhansi Medical College describing them as very sad.

Citing the ‘oxygen concentrator’, purported to be behind the fire, he said this is simply a matter of medical management, government negligence and poor quality oxygen concentrators. Punitive action should be taken against all those responsible for the tragedy.

“The chief minister should leave aside election campaigning and ‘false claims that everything is fine’ and focus on the poor condition of health and medicine. Only those families who have lost their children can understand the pain and suffering. This is not only a government but also a moral responsibility. It is hoped that those doing election politics will conduct a true investigation in this hour of family crisis and will make radical changes in their so-called Health and Medical Ministry from top to bottom,” said the SP president.

Demanding that the BJP government should provide world-class medical facilities for all the burnt children and give an ex gratia amount of Rs 1 crore to each of the bereaved families, he said this tragic accident in Jhansi happened due to the corruption and negligence of the BJP government.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee President Ajay Rai has expressed deep condolences on the death of 10 children due to fire in Jhansi Medical College.

Blaming the Yogi Adityanath government for this incident, he alleged in a statement here on Saturday that due to the negligence of the administration, such painful accidents are continuously happening in UP, which points towards the incompetence of the government.

Rai said this accident highlights the inadequate security in hospitals and the corruption. The fire extinguishers installed in Jhansi Medical College were inadequate and those available were expired. Not only this, the fire alarm was also not working and neither was any hospital staff trained to deal with such accidents.

“Instead of expressing regret over the painful death of newborn babies, the administration is threatening eyewitnesses against telling the truth,” he alleged.

The state Congress president said his party demands compensation of Rs 50 lakh to all the victim families and strictest action against Medical College Principal Narendra Singh Sengar.

Meanwhile, BSP President Mayawati, in a statement, said, “There is natural uproar and anger over the very tragic incident of death of 10 newborn children due to fire in Maharani Lakshmibai Medical College, Jhansi, UP. Strict legal punishment is necessary for the culprits for such fatal negligence. It is impossible to compensate for such incidents, yet the government must help the affected families in every possible way.”