Gorakhpur, Aug 26: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has blamed the "negative reporting" by the press, along with "internal politics" for what he described as the "exaggeration" of the tragedy in Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College Hospital last year.

In a departure from what was widely reported, Adityanath said there was no shortage of liquid oxygen at the hospital. "Had there been a shortage of oxygen, then the children on ventilator would have died first," he added.

Watch Yogi Adityanath defending his government on BRD Hospital deaths:

The Chief Minister also blamed the media of sensationalising the issue by reporting without context. He claimed that Japanese encephalitis leads to the death of an equivalent number if minors each year during that particular phase (post Monsoon).

Adityanath claimed that when his team arrived at the hospital to inquire the issue, he learnt that internal politics at the hospital led to the misreporting of the casualty figures.

When the tragedy broke out in August last year, the government had suspended the BRD Medical College principal and arrested Dr Kafeel Khan, who was in-charge of the encaphilits ward.

Khan, who claimed that he had personally arranged for a few oxygen cylinders as there was no supply due to disruption of payment, was kept in jail till April this year. His release on bail came only after an order by the Allahabad High Court.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2018 04:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).