The leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, on Wednesday demanded the arrest and resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio, and health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam over the January 10 death of a woman allegedly because she was given substandard Ringer's lactate intravenous solution at a Midnapore government hospital.

“I asked the special secretary that when the Karnataka government informed the state government on December 13 last year (about the substandard solution), why did you take one month to ban its use? He could not give any answer. Nothing happens without Mamata Banerjee’s permission and so she should resign and be booked,” Adhikari told the media after meeting officials of Swasthya Bhavan in Salt Lake on Wednesday evening.

The BJP leader, however, did not mention which special secretary he was referring to.

“The state legislative Assembly is not functioning now and so we have come here. We are answerable to the people. The state government will have to give us a reply,” Adhikari added.

The BJP's demand for Mamata's arrest and resignation comes a couple of days after both the CPM and the Congress demanded she should quit over the Midnapore incident.

Later in the day, the leader of the Opposition, along with several BJP MLAs, filed a complaint at the Electronics Complex police station, demanding a proper probe and the arrest of state authorities, health officials and the management of Midnapore Medical College and Hospital responsible for the death of Mamani Ruidas, 30, who died after giving birth to a baby boy.

The alleged use of substandard Ringer's lactate manufactured by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals at government hospitals has taken centrestage in Bengal politics following the woman's death in Midnapore. Eight other women fell critically ill after childbirth at the Midnapore hospital.

Three of them had to be shifted to the SSKM hospital in Calcutta.

The RL solution produced by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals was banned in Karnataka last year following six cases of maternal deaths in the southern state.

On December 10, the Bengal government banned the pharma company from manufacturing the solution at its plant in Chopra, North Dinajpur. However, several doctors working in government hospitals in Bengal and political parties claimed that they had not been told to stop using the drug. On January 7, hospital authorities, through a notice, were told to make alternative arrangements as production had stopped at the Chopra plant.

A strict order not to use 14 products of the pharma company was issued only after the Midnapore death.

Finding itself on a sticky wicket, the state government ordered an inquiry into the incident by the CID on Monday.

Earlier, the health department had sent a 13-member expert committee to probe what caused Mamani's death.

Alleging that the CID investigation was ordered only to tamper with the evidence, similar to the handling of the RG Kar rape and murder case a few months ago, Adhikari said: “A special investigation team (SIT) led by a sitting judge from Calcutta High Court should be formed. It should have members from the CBI, police, health department, and the DCGI (Drug Controller-General of India).”

Although senior BJP leaders denied that Adhikari's demonstration was motivated by the party's failure to gain political mileage from the RG Kar brutality, where junior doctors backed by Left parties dominated the spotlight, political observers believe the BJP aimed at avoiding a repeat of the same mistake.

"The RG Kar case was different. We represent people, and it is our responsibility to bring such issues into focus. We don’t know how many people have already been given this banned medicine. They are killing people for money," said a BJP MLA.