Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of accepting ₹945 crore in electoral bonds from pharmaceutical companies, alleging a nexus between the ruling party and drug manufacturers linked to the deaths of 26 children in Madhya Pradesh. The children reportedly died after consuming the contaminated Coldrif cough syrup, which was found to contain lethal levels of diethylene glycol, a toxic industrial solvent.
Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister charged that the state government deliberately failed to act against the responsible pharmaceutical firms because they had made political donations to the BJP. “Companies that sell toxic drugs are receiving protection because they have provided election funds to the BJP, which is in power at the Centre,” Singh alleged.
According to Singh, laboratory analysis revealed that Coldrif contained over 48.6 percent diethylene glycol — far exceeding the permissible limit of 0.01 percent — making it a fatal product that caused severe kidney damage in children. He questioned why the state’s health minister had not resigned despite the findings, stating, “Should the health minister remain in his position now that the investigation has proven that the syrup contained toxic chemicals?”
Singh further claimed that a total of ₹945 crore was routed to the BJP from various pharmaceutical firms through the electoral bonds scheme. Of those, he alleged that 35 companies had failed government quality tests but continued to operate freely under political protection.
The controversy stems from the deaths of 26 children in Chhindwara and neighbouring districts, who reportedly suffered kidney failure after consuming Coldrif syrup. Following the tragedy, authorities launched a state-level probe into the manufacturing and distribution chain.
In connection with the case, Ranganathan Govindan, the owner of Tamil Nadu-based Sresen Pharma, which produced Coldrif, was arrested and placed in judicial custody by a local court in Madhya Pradesh. Govindan had earlier been taken to Kanchipuram by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for interrogation during a 10-day police custody period.
SIT chief Jitendra Singh Jaat confirmed that the accused was presented before Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Gurjar in Parasia after the end of his custody term. The SIT has also detained Dr. Praveen Soni, a Chhindwara-based physician who prescribed the syrup; his nephew Rajesh Soni, a medicine wholesaler; and Saurabh Jain, a pharmacist at a store owned by Dr. Soni’s wife. All three are currently in judicial custody.
Authorities have since sealed Sresen Pharma’s manufacturing facility. Additionally, the state government has suspended two drug inspectors and a deputy director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and transferred the state’s drug controller for negligence in monitoring the production and sale of the contaminated batch.
The Coldrif tragedy has reignited national debate over the safety of India’s pharmaceutical exports and domestic drug regulation, especially in the wake of similar cases reported abroad in recent years. The Congress has demanded a full-scale inquiry into the alleged political-financial links between drug manufacturers and ruling party leaders, urging accountability at both the state and central levels.
