Even before the ruling BJP could recover from the jolt given by former chief minister, B. S. Yeddyurappa, ruling party legislator, Dr Sarvabhouma Bagali further embarrassed his party by demanding the resignation of medical education minister S.A. Ramdas and also appealed to the government to register a criminal case against officials of his department.
Dr Bagali accused Mr Ramdas of being hand-in glove with medicine sellers and dealers. The generic medicine scam was much more deeper than the mining scam which had forced several BJP leaders to quit, he said. Dr Bagali alleged that the generic medicine shop that was inaugurated in Hubli, was selling generic medicines at a price ten times higher than the market price.
Participating in a debate on the drought situation, he claimed that he had several receipts and documents to prove that Mr Ramdas’s initiative to set up generic medicine shops at government hospital premises was nothing short of fleecing people. “The generic medicine shops should sell medicines at a discounted rate of 50 per cent but the KIMS, Hubli generic medicine shop is selling Citrizen tablet which costs Rs 2.30 in the open market, at Rs 25. Similarly, Pantoparazol is available at Rs 7.70 per but sold at Rs 57.65 and Flucunzol is available at Rs 2.75 but sold at Rs 29,” he alleged. “I suspect that Mr Ramdas played into the hands of the drug mafia,” Dr Bagali concluded.