Launching a scathing attack on the Centre over the alleged increase in the prices of essential medicines, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday accused the government of placing an additional financial burden on patients and their families.
While interacting with mediapersons at Kisan Bhawan in Kaithal, Surjewala demanded an immediate rollback of the increased prices approved on June 11 this year.
Accompanied by his son and Kaithal MLA Aditya Surjewala, along with other party leaders, the Congress MP claimed that the prices of certain medicines used in the treatment of cancer, tetanus and serious wounds had been increased by around 50 per cent.
Presenting comparative figures, Surjewala said that the prices of injections commonly used in chemotherapy and cancer treatment had been increased. Similarly, he highlighted the increased prices of anti-tetanus injections and said that such decisions proved that the government was anti-people.
Surjewala also claimed that the prices of around 900 essential medicines had risen by nearly 26 per cent between 2021 and 2026. He cited annual revisions in medicine prices and alleged that the cumulative increase had significantly affected the affordability of healthcare for ordinary citizens.
Highlighting the impact on patients suffering from chronic illnesses, he alleged that the prices of generic medicines used for treating blood pressure, heart disease, HIV, blood-thinning conditions, and bacterial infections had increased by nearly 28 per cent over the last five years.
Surjewala accused the BJP-led government of failing to protect the interests of patients and urged it to withdraw the latest increase in medicine prices.
