Demands for resignation of Kerala Health Minister Veena George increase, CPI-M rules it out

Thiruvananthapuram, July 4 (IANS) Amid calls for the resignation of Kerala Health Minister Veena George coming from various quarters, the ruling CPI-M's top leadership, at their weekly meeting on Friday, categorically dismissed the demands.

Angry opposition activists, who demanded George quit, engaged in protests across the state and at several places, they clashed with the police.

At a few places, police used water cannons and force to chase away the protesters.

Calls for George's resignation have come from the Congress, the BJP, and the protesting Asha Workers for her statement that only two people were injured when a building that housed the toilet block at the Kottayam Medical College hospital collapsed on Thursday morning.

When she and her cabinet colleague, Cooperation Minister V.N.Vasavan, were telling the media that there were no casualties in the incident, 56-year-old Bindhu, at that time, had breathed her last as she was lying under the debris. Bindhu had come with her daughter for treatment, and she had gone to the toilet when the building came crashing down.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also broke his silence and said on Friday that the state government will strongly support Bindhu’s family and has asked the respective authorities to ensure that such tragedies do not happen.

CPI-M state Secretary M.V.Govindan said there is no reason for George to resign at all.

"There is a concerted attempt to tarnish the image of the government, and this has been going on for a while. There has been no laxity at all in starting the rescue operations when the building collapsed. A section of the media is joining hands with the private sector to tarnish the government health sector," he said.

Meanwhile, the body of Bindhu was cremated in the presence of a big crowd who had come to join the grieving family, near her home at Kottayam.

A large number of Congress's top leaders were present, while Vasavan visited the bereaved family at their home.

Bindhu’s distraught husband said now that CM Vijayan has reacted, they trust his words.

"A while ago, George spoke to me over the phone and promised me that she would visit in a day or two," he said.

The Congress has demanded a judicial probe, and the BJP state President Rajeev Chandrasekhar has demanded a case be registered against both George and Vasavan.

--IANS

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