Cough syrup deaths raised in Rajasthan assembly; govt blames use without medical advice

Jaipur: The government on Tuesday, responding to the questions about the cough syrup-linked deaths, said in the Rajasthan Assembly that the fatalities were caused due to "overdosing and comorbidity", as the medicine was taken in the absence of medical advice.

A sharp exchange was witnessed in the assembly after the opposition raised the issue during the Question Hour.

The issue of deaths in man-animal conflicts was also raised, after which the state government announced a proposal to double the compensation for deaths caused by wild animal attacks.


Replying to a question by BJP MLA Jaswant Gurjar from Bari (Dholpur), Forest Minister Sanjay Sharma said the government has decided to increase the compensation for deaths caused by wild animal attacks from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

He informed the House that the process of amending the relevant rules to implement the enhanced compensation is currently underway.

Meanwhile, the Congress sought to corner the government over lower expenditure under the free medicine scheme, despite an increase in OPD footfall, and over reports of deaths of children allegedly linked to the consumption of a government-supplied cough syrup in October 2025.

Congress MLA Harimohan Sharma and Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully raised questions on these issues.

Responding to them, Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar said the syrup in question was not taken on the advice of government doctors.

"If medicines are given on the prescription of doctors and deaths occur, then the responsibility lies with the doctor and the government. But if someone brings medicines from outside and deaths occur, neither the doctor nor the government is responsible," the minister said.

Khimsar said that not many deaths had occurred in the cough syrup case, adding that "two to four or five deaths were reported". He said parents had administered cough syrup doses to children on their own, without medical advice.

The health minister said cough syrup contains chemicals such as codeine, and the deaths occurred due to "overdosing and comorbidity".

He also said the same cough syrup has been in use since 2014, including during the previous Congress government's tenure.

Reacting to the reply, Jully said the company manufacturing the syrup had been blacklisted in several places and questioned whether the quality of the medicine may have deteriorated over time.

The House later continued with its scheduled business.