Kottayam medical college incident: CPI(M) rules out Health Minister Veena George’s resignation

CPI(M) Kerala state secretary M V Govindan on Friday ruled out the resignation of Health Minister Veena George, as demanded by opposition parties in the wake of the building collapse at Kottayam Medical College, in which 52-year-old D Bindu lost her life.

Addressing reporters here, he claimed there was a ''conspiracy to malign'' the health sector in the state, which has seen several development activities during the last nine years of LDF rule.

He alleged that the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) has made it a practice to target the Education and Health Departments, which witnessed several improvements under the LDF government.

"A baseless campaign is being carried out by the UDF and other opposition parties with the help of a section of the media, claiming that these two sectors are in trouble under LDF rule. This is a planned campaign to discredit the government," he claimed.

He said the state government had spent Rs 1,498 crore on development activities in the health sector during 2024-25. A total of Rs 6,700 crore was spent in the sector over the last nine years.

Describing the death of a woman in the building collapse at Kottayam Medical College as ''unfortunate'', he said the government should come forward to provide relief to the family of the deceased.

Govindan also denied allegations that the rescue work was delayed after the building collapse at the medical college on Thursday.

''There was only a technical delay in bringing the earth-moving equipment, and it was not caused by the visit of two ministers to the hospital immediately after the incident,'' he said.

He alleged that the ''false campaign'' by opposition parties targeting the health department was aimed at helping private players in the sector.

The Opposition UDF and the BJP had held protest demonstrations at the state and district levels, demanding the resignation of Veena George over the alleged ''neglect'' of various public health facilities across the state.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)