India, Oct. 7 -- The Congress on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh of negligence in handling the deaths of 17 children allegedly caused by the consumption of a contaminated cough syrup.

The party claimed that despite clear evidence of toxicity and rising fatalities, the state authorities failed to act promptly against the pharmaceutical company involved.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Rajasthan leader of opposition Tika Ram Jully said the government's "lackadaisical" approach reflected both insensitivity and possible corruption in the procurement of medicines from blacklisted companies.

"When the cases of death increased, instead of taking action, the Rajasthan gov...