BJP’s Varun Gandhi offers ₹5 crore for child care facility in his constituency

NEWDELHI: The BJP MP from Sultanpur, Varun Gandhi, on Monday pledged to use the fund allocated for his constituency to build a child care facility in the central UP district amid an outrage over the death of over 60 children at a state-run hospital in Gorakhpur.

The children died at Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College within a span of a week in Gorakhpur, CM Yogi Adityanath’s hometown and parliamentary constituency, after its liquid oxygen supply was allegedly cut since it failed to pay dues to the supplier.

Gandhi pledged ₹5 crore from his Member of Parliament Local Area Development — the amount legislators get every year for development in their constituency — for creating a new wing at Sultanpur district hospital.

This, he said in a statement, will be accompanied by a matching grant of ₹5 crore more, which he will raise personally through donations and collection from CSR fundings.

“The human tragedy in Gorakhpur has left me jolted,” the 36-year-old MP said in the statement.

“It is my hope that other MPs, who represent a rural constituency, also initiate something similar in their area to ensure our children’s care and protection.” HTC