Congress raises doubts over Ahamed’s death, seeks probe

MP moves an adjournment notice, which was rejected by the Speaker

February 04, 2017 12:40 am | Updated 12:40 am IST - NEW DELHI:

 Congress MP K.C. Venugopal and other leaders in the Lok Sabha   on Friday.

Congress MP K.C. Venugopal and other leaders in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The Congress on Friday demanded the setting up of a parliamentary committee to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of Malapuram MP and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national president E. Ahamed.

The MP had collapsed during President Pranab Mukherjee’s customary address to both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, and had been subsequently declared dead in the early hours of Wednesday.

‘Access was denied’

Mr. Ahamed’s family members, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice- president Rahul Gandhi had sought access to the patient at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in New Delhi on Tuesday night but were not allowed to meet him.

Congress MP K.C. Venugopal moved an adjournment notice on the issue which was rejected by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

“The unethical approach of the hospital and the government towards veteran parliamentarian E. Ahamed and his family members during his last hours has created anguish and concern among the people. They hope for an explanation and an impartial probe into it,” stated the notice.

“We met the honourable Speaker in the morning today [Friday] and told her that nobody including Mr. Ahamed’s daughter and son-in-law, who are both qualified doctors were allowed to see him,” said Mr. Venugopal.

He also accused Minister of State for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Dr. Jitendra Singh of playing a less than stellar role in the proceedings.

“What or who prevented the family members of Mr. Ahamed from getting access to him? These things happened after the visit of Mr. Jitendra Singh to the hospital and the government must reveal what transpired in those hours,” he said.

The matter was also raised in the Rajya Sabha by Communist Party of India (CPI-M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Mr. Venugopal said the Congress will raise the issue again on Monday and carry forward its protest.

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