Jaipur: Rajasthan Congress today demanded Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje's resignation over the government's “failure” to contain the spread of swine flu, which has claimed 52 lives in the state so far. In a statement, the Scheduled Caste unit of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee Secretary Savitri Khareria said it is a “non-functional” government as the state's Home Minister G C Kataria and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tested positive for H1N1 virus.
“Despite 52 deaths due to swine flu and hundreds of people testing H1N1 positive, the BJP government miserably failed to tackle the disease outbreak, and could not take preventive steps,” Khareria said.
She alleged that the public is feeling “insecure” due to the outbreak and demanded that Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje should tender her resignation on “moral grounds”. The toll of the disease-related deaths in Rajasthan went up to 52 today, with three more persons succumbing to swine flu.
Earlier, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Rajasthan home minister G C Kataria were also tested positive for the H1N1 virus. Their condition was said to have improved today.
So far, Jaipur has recorded 16 deaths due to swine flu, the maximum in the state, followed by Ajmer 10, Nagaur 6, Tonk 3, Kota, Bikaner, Dausa, Jodhpur, Barmer, Bundi and Banswara 2 each, and Alwar, Pali, and Dungarpur one each since January this year.
