The claim by Uzbekistan that 18 children have died on its soil after consuming a cough syrup manufactured in India has triggered a massive political controversy in the South Asian nation even as an investigation has been launched.
On Thursday (29), the opposition Indian National Congress lashed out at the Narendra Modi government saying it must stop boasting about India being the world's pharmacy. It also raked up the incident of 70 kids' deaths in the African nation of The Gambia, allegedly after consuming an India-made syrup as well.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, said the opposition party was spreading hatred for prime minister Modi by linking the deaths in Uzbekistan to those in The Gambia, claiming that the cough syrups in the African nation were later declared to be okay.
"Made in India cough syrups seem to be deadly. First, it was the deaths of 70 kids in Gambia & now it is that of 18 children in Uzbekistan. Modi Sarkar must stop boasting about India being a pharmacy to the world and take strictest action," Congress general secretary and parliamentarian Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
Amit Malviya, the national head of the BJP's information technology cell, said in a tweet, "That has been clarified by the Gambian authorities and DCGI, both. But blinded in its hate for Modi, Congress continues to deride India and its entrepreneurial spirit. Shameful…"
DGCI stands for Drugs Controller General of India.
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