Ireland’s ambassador to India Feilim McLaughlin has been called to meet India’s Minister for External Affairs over the death of tragic mum to be Savita Halappanavar.
The demand came as anger mounts in India over the refusal of a Galway hospital to terminate Savita’s pregnancy and save her life.
The ambassador was told of the ‘concern and angst in Indian society at the untimely and tragic death’ according to a report in the Hindu Times.
The paper reports that External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid echoed the views of the Indian public in the meeting.
Khurshid told reporters: “Saving the life of the mother is of prime importance, if you can’t save the life of the child.”
Ambassador McLaughlin was also told that India hoped the inquiry into the death would be independent.
The Minister and his staff told McLaughlin that India was unhappy that a young life had come to an untimely end and hoped the Indian Ambassador in Dublin Debashish Chakravarti would be regularly updated on the progress of the probe.
Ambassador Chakravarti also attended a Dublin meeting with Ireland’s deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore who also serves as the country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Chakravarti told the Indian media than he was assured that the Irish government is ‘committed to establishing the full circumstances and facts’ of the Savita case.
The meetings in India and Ireland came ahead of a series of protests in Dublin, Cork and Belfast on Saturday.
Ireland’s Health Minister James Reilly assured the media that Savita’s family will learn the full facts behind her tragic death.
Minister Reilly said: “Her family are entitled to know as quickly as possible what the facts of the situation were. They will not have to wait one minute longer than necessary.
“I know this is an extremely difficult and traumatic time for them and I don’t want to see either of the investigations delay one minute longer than they have to and leave this family in doubt as to what really happened.”
The Indian Ambassador to Dublin, Chakravarti said the incident had caused great pain and anguish among the Indian community in Ireland but he insisted that it would not affect the relations between the two countries which he described as ‘extremely cordial.'
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