Punjab IMA seeks health minister's dismissal for forcing surgeon to lie down on dirty mattress

The Indian Medical Association's Punjab chapter on Sunday demanded Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra's immediate dismissal from the Cabinet and a public apology from him for ''humiliating'' the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor.

Jouramajra has come under fire from several quarters after he allegedly forced Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) vice-chancellor Raj Bahadur, a noted spine specialist, to lie down on a dirty mattress during an inspection.

Expressing anguish over the incident, Punjab IMA president Dr Parmjit Singh Maan strongly condemned the health minister's attitude and demanded a public apology from him.

He also urged Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to replace Jouramajra with one of his party's legislators belonging to the medical fraternity.

If these demands were not accepted, the IMA would be forced to take a strong step, Dr Parmjit Singh Maan said.

After the incident, Bahadur resigned and said that he had conveyed to the Punjab chief minister the ''humiliation'' he faced and requested that he be relieved from services as the work environment was not conducive.

Addressing the media here, the Punjab IMA also demanded an inquiry into the whole incident and said it appeared to be a ''conspiracy'' hatched to demoralize the VC and the medical fraternity.

Dr Sunil Katyal, Punjab IMA general secretary, and Dr Navjot Dhaiya, IMA national vice-president, were also present on the occasion.

Dr Akhil Sareen, state president of the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association, too condemned the incident.

''The Punjab government needs to address issues of lack of funding, staff crunch and inadequate infrastructure before fixing accountability of a healthcare provider. The last cadre review of doctors was done in the 1990s, even with that set of population, there are around 1,000 doctors short in government hospitals,'' Sareen said in a statement.

Opposition parties have demanded Jouramajra's resignation over this issue.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said such ''talkhiyan'' (bitter situations) do emerge during work and added, ''I feel the situation could have been handled in a better manner.'' 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)