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Faridkot university V-C quits over minister action; Oppn hits out
A video clip of the incident had surfaced on social media on Friday prompting outrage from the state’s Opposition parties who demanded that Jouramajra be sacked.
The vice chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences in Faridkot, Dr Raj Bahadur, resigned from his post on Saturday, a day after he was forced by state health minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra to lie on a dirty hospital mattress during an inspection of the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital’s facilities.
A video clip of the incident had surfaced on social media on Friday prompting outrage from the state’s Opposition parties who demanded that Jouramajra be sacked.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Bahadur said he had conveyed his anguish to chief minister Bhagwant Mann and requested that he be relieved from services as the “work environment was not conducive.”
“I am emotional right now as I have given so many years to this university. He (minister) should have not done that much...it was unnecessary. I’ve narrated the entire incident to the CM. He has apologised and expressed regret over the behaviour of his minister,” he said.
Bahadur is a specialist in spinal surgery and joint replacement, and was the director-principal of the government medical college and hospital in Chandigarh. He has also been the head of the orthopaedic department at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
On Saturday, he broke down when state Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring came to meet him to express solidarity. When asked if he would reconsider his decision, Bahadur said, “I have sent my resignation to the government and also informed CM, now it’s their decision to make.”
In Friday’s video, Bahadur can be seen explaining to the minister that he was not responsible for the facilities, to which the AAP leader retorted, “Everything is in your hands.”
Speaking about the incident, Bahadur said on Sunday the minister started pointing out other problems with facilities in the hospital as well. According to Bahadur, he told Jouramajra that there was a process to procure items for the hospital and an order for replacing a damaged mattress was being placed. But, Bahadur said, the minister insisted on inspecting the very mattress which was damaged.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) demanded the minister’s unconditional apology and resignation for his “misbehavior” and appealed to CM Mann to immediately take action against him.
Opposition parties, too, hit out at the AAP dispensation over the incident.
“The sort of behaviour meted by the health minister to V-C Baba Farid Medical University Dr Raj Bahadur is absolutely uncalled for. @BhagwantMann ji should take strict action against the arrogant minister,” senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa tweeted.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh tweeted, “Outrageous & atrocious behaviour of Punjab health minister Chetan Jouramajra is unacceptable. Not only should he apologise to Dr Raj Bahadur a distinguished doctor, he should be sacked immediately. This is a test case for @BhagwantMann to restore confidence of medical community.
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal called out the minister for “reprehensible behaviour.”
In Chandigarh, Mann said Bahadur was his friend and had treated his father when he was the Principal of Government Medical College in the city.
“Sometimes, such bitter moments crop up during the work but at the same time I think this could have been handled in a better way,” said the chief minister during an informal interaction with reporters.
AAP’s Punjab unit chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang took on the opposition for “shedding crocodile tears to score brownie points before the media over the matter”.
Terming the incident “unfortunate”, Kang said that “the manner in which the opposition is doing cheap politics over the issue is equally unfortunate.”
