A day after allegedly being humiliated on camera by Punjab Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra, the vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences in Faridkot, Dr Raj Bahadur, on Saturday, 30 July, resigned from his post.
After receiving complaints over cleanliness in the hospital wards, Health Minister Jouramajra had entered the government hospital accompanied by mediapersons, and asked Dr Bahadurl to lay on a patient bed.
After the doctor gets up, Minister Jouramajra was heard saying, "It's all in your hands, it's all in your hands.”
The minister also asked to see the store where hospital gear and infrastructure is kept.
'Absolutely Uncalled For': Indian Medical Association
Calling the act of making the VC lay in the bed “absolutely uncalled for”, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Saturday, 30 July, demanded “an unconditional apology and resignation from the Health Minister of Punjab for his misbehaviour.”
IMA said in its statement, “Dr Raj Bahadur, learned academician and well-respected Doctor, has done great work for the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. He has been instrumental in uplifting the status of the University at very high level.”
Further, demanding intervention by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) released a statement over the incident and condemned “the derogatory behaviour met to the highest respectable doctor of Medical services of Punjab.”
FORDA wrote in its statement, “It has been observed at many instances that the political administrators misuse the power bestowed to them by the virtue of their office and rather than sharing the problems of administration they resort to find out an easy escape for the inefficient health system by putting all kind of blames on the shoulders of the doctors.”
The statement added, “Such incidences are highly demoralising and bring highest level of disappointment not only to the doctors of the state but to the entire nation. It is surely a Black Day for the medical services in the state of Punjab.”
Meanwhile, Opposition leaders slammed the Minister's behaviour and called it "cheap theatrics". Congress leader Pargat Singh had said, "This type of mob behaviour will only demoralise our medical staff."
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also reached the hospital to meet the doctor.
He said in a tweet, "I couldn't see eye to eye with Dr Raj Bahadur Ji, as there was helplessness in his eyes. It was not he who felt insulted and humiliated, but all of us together. Entire Punjab stands in solidarity with you, Sir. (sic)"
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had sacked the then Health Minister Vijay Singla from the Cabinet on a corruption charge in May.
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