Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Tuesday claimed that deliberate attempts were being made to depict the healthcare system of the state in a bad light and accused the opposition Congress-led UDF of being at the forefront of the same.

George said that she was ready for a discussion about the health sector with the UDF and urged Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan to join the same.

"Let Kerala see and hear the facts," she said.

Her accusation and a call for discussion with Satheesan came amidst the continuing protests and criticisms against her from the opposition over the death of a 52-year-old woman when a portion of the Kottayam Government Medical College building recently collapsed, and the revelations by a government doctor of a lack of surgical equipment at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.

The minister also claimed that besides the UDF, "unfortunately," some media groups were also part of such attempts.

She said that the facts regarding the health sector in the state were before everyone, and people have appreciated the changes in it in recent times.

Meanwhile, protests continued against the minister in the state, with black flags being shown to her at various places reportedly by the youth wing of the Congress.