MAPUSA
The voices within the government against the Health Minister’s handling of Covid crisis is getting bolder and louder.
On Saturday, Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) Chairman and Aldona MLA Glen Ticlo said the health minister should take responsibility for the death of people due to drop in oxygen level and the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the party should decide whether to divest him of the portfolio or not.
“It is very sad and unfortunate that so many people are dying on a daily basis in GMC due to lack of oxygen. The health minister should take the responsibility... He should find out what is the issue. Talk to the GMC dean, talk to the doctor, talk to the medical superintendent and get it rectified,” Ticlo said.
He said the health minister should dig deep and find out the ground reality as to why the oxygen level was dropping at the ‘dark hour’ in the GMC.
“Who is responsible for the level to drop? Is it the staff on duty? Is it the technical experts? Are those who are assigned to look into the oxygen level really experts or not…all this has to be looked into,” the Aldona MLA opined.
Recently, the Health Minister and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant were at loggerheads on the death of Covid infected patients due to lack of oxygen in GMC.
An aggrieved High Court also slammed the government for the mismanagement of oxygen supply which led to death of patients in the GMC.
Continuing, Ticlo said if something was going wrong it was the duty of the health minister to bring it to the notice of the CM and get it rectified immediately.
“We can seek help from other States or even the Centre. But action should be taken on top priority by the minister concerned,” he said, without taking the name of the health minister even once.
The Aldona MLA said the government should fix responsibility and take appropriate decision.
“Let the chief minister and the party decide what has to be done. They should take a call. It is their decision,” Ticlo said, when questioned whether the concerned minister should be divested from the health portfolio.
