CPI(M) Leader Criticises Kerala Health Sector Privatisation Amid SMA Drug Row

Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary M.V. Govindan has accused the United Democratic Front government of bringing privatisation into the health sector. Speaking in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, Mr. Govindan stated that Health Minister K. Muraleedharan failed to give clear answers to parents of children suffering from spinal muscular atrophy regarding drugs meant for clinical trials.

Questions Raised

Mr. Govindan put forward six direct questions to the Health Minister. He asked how drugs meant for clinical trials reached the hospital and why authorities withdrew them if they were harmless. He also questioned if parents knew that bioequivalence studies lacked completion and whether the Medical Services Corporation checked the quality. Other queries included asking why tender rules were relaxed for one company and who takes responsibility if children suffer side effects. He dismissed the Minister's claim that past Left Democratic Front government terms saw these drug decisions.

Development Fund

The CPI(M) leader also claimed the government is trying to wreck state development by dismantling the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board. He noted that project works worth one lakh crore rupees started under this board, including six thousand six hundred seventy crore rupees spent on health and over twenty-five thousand crore rupees through the Public Works Department. Central agencies tried to destroy the board from the start, and now the opposition aligns with that goal.

Context

Spinal muscular atrophy is a severe genetic condition affecting muscle strength and movement, often requiring costly specialized treatments and careful regulatory oversight. Public debates over drug trials and healthcare access frequently draw intense political scrutiny from opposition parties demanding accountability from state authorities.