Poor don’t matter to the PM: Congress

Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the latter visited the city to address the 56th convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay (IIT-B) and encourage students, even as a 12-year-old girl, studying in a civic school, died of the suspected side-effects of consuming deworming medication and iron and folic acid supplements a day before the PM’s visit to the city.

Nirupam said, “PM Modi and the government led by him have always turned a blind eye towards the poor. They are the ‘suit boot ki sarkaar’ and this attitude of theirs has been reflected in every activity they have carried out so far. As stated by the Prime Minister, the nation is proud of the IITs. But he has completely forgotten about the downtrodden and those in need. The lives of many young minds are risked everyday due to the negligence and carelessness of the BJP government. The Prime Minister said new ideas come from young minds. But who is taking care of those who are young but unfortunately poor because the Prime Minister is clearly interested in addressing the rich”.

“We expected him to visit the family who has lost their daughter only because of what can be called a clear case of negligence by the BJP government. But he didn’t, thus disappointing them and every common man in the city”, added Nirupam.

Chandni Shaikh, 12, a student in Govandi’s Sanjay Nagar Municipal Urdu School fell ill and died on Friday. The deceased, along with hundreds of other students, had been given iron and folic acid tablets as a part of a Union government programme on August 6. In a state of panic, the parents gave a knee jerk response by rushing their children to Ghatkopar’s Rajawadi and Shatabadi Hospitals for a medical check-up. Result: In no time, 471 students had been hospitalised.