Nitish Kumar should resign over AES deaths: Upendra Kushwaha

PATNA: Former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha on Sunday held CM Nitish Kumar responsible for death of 150 children due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in the state and demanded his immediate resignation.
Kushwaha said PM Narendra Modi and Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan should also be held responsible for the AES deaths in Muzaffarpur and elsewhere in the state.“Dr Vardhan, who had promised to take steps to prevent deaths due to the disease four years ago, did nothing. The PM should take personal interest and do something to improve healthcare system in the state,” Kushwaha said.
The RLSP chief, who had been feeling uneasy in the NDA after Nitish’s party JD(U) joined it in July 2017, left the alliance in December last year. “Nitish has run the state for 15 years. He should now resign and recommend elections, leaving the rest to the people of the state. Since he failed to improve healthcare system in the state despite remaining in power for 15 years, he cannot do anything overnight now,” Kushwaha said.
Asked why the previous governments headed by RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi did not improve the healthcare system in the state, Kushwaha said, “The people of the state punished them for that. They are not running the government now.”
Citing the Bihar State Health Society data, Kushwaha said government hospitals in the state had only 3,149 regular doctors against the sanctioned strength of 7,249. Similarly, there are only 533 contract doctors against the sanctioned strength of 2,314, he added.
“The number of health sub-centres and additional health sub-centres had only marginally increased since 2012, while the number of district, referral, sub-divisional and block-level primary health centres remained fixed at 36, 70, 55 and 533, respectively. Doctors should be appointed at health sub-centres and additional health sub-centres,” the RLSP chief added.