Bengaluru, March 12 Claiming a "medical emergency" in the state, the opposition BJP on Thursday targeted the Congress government and Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao in the Legislative Assembly over the functioning of his department.
The BJP sought to move an "adjournment motion" to discuss issues related to shortages of medicines and doctors, among other concerns.
"The health minister is fine, but his department is in crisis. The minister can get medicines privately, but the poor cannot. Doctors have called for a strike, but they have temporarily called it off after some negotiations," Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said.
He said that due to the shortage of medicines, people across the state are facing problems.
"I have a list of 270 primary health centers (PHCs) that the government is planning to shut down. Doctors are also being transferred. People in those villages are worried because there are no medicines or doctors," he said, sending a copy of the list to the Speaker.
Further quoting the government doctors' association, the opposition leader said that patients are not receiving medicines on time due to recent supply failures.
"The association has repeatedly requested a solution, but the issue remains unresolved. The shortage has put pressure on doctors and has also led to clashes with patients," he said, quoting the doctors' association.
Seeking a debate on various health department-related issues under the adjournment motion, Ashoka said, "This will send a warning message to the government. In a way, there is a medical emergency in the state. There are medicines in the hospital."
Former Deputy CM C N Ashwath Narayan also claimed that there was a "medical emergency" in the state, highlighting that "there is a shortage of doctors, shortage of medicines, and issues with the ambulance service. The entire system seems to have collapsed."
Speaker U T Khader, however, said that discussion on the matter cannot be allowed under the adjournment motion, and it can be raised during the ongoing discussion on the Budget, or he will provide for discussion on the matter under some other rule later.
Finally, it was decided that the matter would be discussed under a different rule at a later date.