BJP demands health minister Irfan Ansari’s removal, CBI probe into Chaibasa HIV incident

Ranchi/Dhanbad: In the wake of five children, all thalassemia patients, contracting HIV after undergoing blood transfusion in West Singhbhum district’s Chaibasa sadar hospital, opposition BJP on Monday demanded dismissal of state health minister Irfan Ansari and a CBI or judicial inquiry into the matter.

The party’s demands were made in a memorandum submitted to governor Santosh Gangwar through Ranchi deputy commissioner (DC) Manjunath Bhajantri.JMM hit back at BJP and accused it of playing politics over children. The party’s general secretary, Vinod Pandey, said, “BJP is playing politics even with children. This is extremely unfortunate and inhuman. BJP is forgetting that the health system was made to decay due to BJP’s misrule all these years, but our govt is trying to bring it back in order.

Why was Marandi ji not concerned when dozens of blood banks were running without licences during BJP’s rule? The JMM-led govt has now started strict monitoring of blood banks, and no leniency will be shown in sending the culprits to jail.

Some officials have already been suspended in the matter.”The BJP’s memorandum said the health minister, who is the protector and nurturer of this entire corrupt system, should be dismissed.

Recommendations should be made for a high-level inquiry by a sitting judge of the Jharkhand high court or CBI into the blood banks running in the entire state, it said.The govt health system of the state has completely collapsed. Heart-wrenching incidents are occurring daily in the govt hospitals. Poor people distressed by the lack of doctors, medicines, beds, and ambulances are now being served death in govt hospitals, it claimed.“BJP requests his excellency to give necessary strict instructions to the corrupt, incompetent state govt to rid the state of such a terrible situation. Strict action should be taken against all people guilty of transfusing infected blood. They should be sent to jail and given strict punishment,” the memorandum read.In Dhanbad district, too, BJP staged a one-day dharna outside the office of the civil surgeon in connection with the Chaibasa incident.

The protest was led by the party’s district president, Shravan Rai.BJP spokesperson Pratul Sahdeo said, “We also want the govt to carry out an immediate survey and sampling of all thalassemia children.”Notably, the five children contracting HIV after undergoing blood transfusion highlighted gross irregularities in blood banks being run across the state.