Sivaganga MP Karthi Chidambaram has said that if the cough syrup linked to the deaths of 22 children originated from Tamil Nadu, the State government and departmental officials must be held accountable.
He made the statement while attending a function at the Sivaganga District Collectorate on Tuesday, where petrol scooters were distributed to differently-abled beneficiaries under the MP Constituency Development Fund of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram.
District Collector Ka. Porkodi presided over the event. MLAs Mangudi and Tamilarasi were present, along with Cooperatives Minister K.R. Periyakaruppan and Karthi Chidambaram, who jointly distributed scooters worth ₹11.19 lakh to 11 differently-abled persons. District Disabled Persons Welfare Officer Balakrishnan and other officials also participated.
Addressing reporters after the event, Karthi Chidambaram referred to the recent reports of 22 child deaths allegedly caused by consumption of contaminated cough syrup. He said the source of the medicine must be traced through investigation. “If it came from Tamil Nadu, the government here and the department officials must definitely answer for it,” he said.
He further questioned how the medicine passed the required quality checks. “How did that quality test come and pass? Did they conduct that quality test? Who conducted it? Or did they pass it without testing? Or did they not do it at all? We need to know everything,” he said, adding that such incidents cannot be taken lightly regardless of where the deaths occurred.
When asked about reports that the company involved had allegedly not conducted mandatory tests for five or six years, the MP said he did not have direct information on the matter. “I don’t know. All that will come from the investigation. I don’t have any first-hand information except what appears in the newspapers. Whatever it is, it will come after a thorough investigation,” he said.
Karthi Chidambaram added that the government should take action based on the investigation findings and release a progress report to ensure transparency in the matter.
(Source: Hindu Tamil)
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