Retd HC judge to probe death of 24 COVID patients due to oxygen shortage in Karnataka
Bengaluru, May 5: The Karnataka government on Wednesday appointed retired High Court judge Justice B A Patil as the one-man commission to inquire into the death of 24 COVID patients in Chamarajanagar district allegedly owing to oxygen shortage.
A notification regarding the appointment of Justice Patil was issued by the Additional Chief Secretary in the Home Department, Rajneesh Goel on Wednesday.
The term of reference of the Commission read, "To inquire into the circumstances and events leading to the death of COVID-19 patients in District Hospital, Chamarajanagar on May 3, reportedly due to scarcity of oxygen and any further similar incidents, which are entrusted to the Commission of Inquiry by Government."
The office of the commission has to submit its report in one month.
The notification said the officers concerned including the Deputy Commissioners of Chamarajanagar and Mysuru districts should hand over immediately all requisite documents and material evidence to the Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Department for onward submission to the Inquiry Commission.
The order came following the directions of the Karnataka High Court, which had taken a serious note of the deaths in Chamarajanagar and recommended a judicial inquiry.
The state government had previously appointed IAS officer Shivayogi Kalasad, the managing director of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, as an investigating officer to probe the matter within three days.
The state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar had maintained that only three deaths took place due to shortage of oxygen and not 24 as has been reported.
The opposition Congress, however, claimed that 28 people died.
Close on the heels of the Chamarajanagar incident, seven COVID patients died in Kalaburagi and Belagavi district allegedly due to lack of oxygen on Tuesday morning.
There has been an unprecedented rise in COVID cases in the state, which is reporting over 44,000 cases and over 200 deaths daily resulting in the shortage of oxygen, drugs and hospital beds, especially the ICU beds.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cong's countrywide protest on Wednesday against VB-G RAM-G bill replacing MGNREGA
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress will hold protests across the country on Wednesday against the Centre's rural employment bill VB-G RAM G that seeks to replace MGNREGA, claiming it was a "BJP-RSS conspiracy" to dismantle a rights-based welfare scheme and attack Mahatma Gandhi's legacy, workers' rights and federal responsibility.
The opposition party's general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal, in a letter to all state Congress presidents, urged them to organise protests at all district headquarters.
These protests must be held with portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, symbolising resistance to the erasure of his name and values, and highlight how the proposed law will impact the crores of beneficiaries of MGNREGA, he said in the letter.
"The combined attack on Gandhiji's legacy, workers' rights and federal responsibility exposes a larger BJP-RSS conspiracy to dismantle rights-based welfare and replace it with charity controlled from the Centre," Venugopal said.
The opposition has strongly objected to the introduction of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, when it was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday.
ALSO READ: National Herald Case: Delhi court refuses to take cognisance of ED chargesheet against Gandhis
The Congress and other opposition MPs also staged a protest in Parliament House complex over the Centre's move.
In the letter to the Congress state unit chief, Venugopal said that on December 28, the party's Foundation Day, programmes should be organised at all blocks and villages, with Mahatma Gandhi's portraits, reaffirming the party's commitment to the dignity of labour, social justice and the right to work.
"This is both a political and moral struggle. The Congress must lead from the front to defend MGNREGA, Gandhiji's legacy and the constitutional promise of justice for the poorest," Venugopal said in a post on X.
In his letter, he said the BJP government has taken an alarming and deliberate step by introducing a bill to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
"This is not a routine legislative exercise. It is a calculated political move to weaken a historical, rights-based people's law and to erase Mahatma Gandhi's name and values from India's most recognisable welfare legislation.
"This combined attack on Gandhiji's legacy, rights and federal responsibility exposes a larger BJP-RSS conspiracy to dismantle rights-based welfare and replace it with charity controlled from the Centre," he noted.
