Protesting against the Punjab Government for allegedly selling COVID-19 vaccines to the private hospitals, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on Sunday gheraoed the residence of Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu in Mohali and burnt his effigy while raising slogans against the government.
The leaders said that the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress Government had procured the vaccination on government quota and sold the same to private hospitals at higher prices.
The protest was led by Deputy Leader of Opposition in Punjab Legislative Assembly Saravjit Kaur Manuke, MLAs Jai Kishan Singh Rodi, Amarjit Singh Sandoa, youth wing co-president Anmol Gagan Mann and senior leader Manwinder Singh Giasarpura.
The leaders demanded that the Health MInister should immediately be sacked from the Punjab Cabinet and a criminal case should be registered against him.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police detained the AAP leaders and workers who were protesting and later took them to the police station.
The leaders, while addressing the protesters in front of the Minister’s residence, said that he had proved to be a complete failure in protecting and ensuring better health facilities for the people of Punjab during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now, the Health Minister is cheating the people of Punjab by selling the vaccination meant for the state people to private hospitals,” they said.
Taking a dig, the AAP leaders stated that the Congress Government and Balbir Singh Sidhu were fleecing innocent people of the State even in this hour of crisis. “The government had bought the vaccine for Rs 400 in the name of the people of Punjab and sold it to private hospitals for Rs 1,060 and have unethically earned crores and have now closed the vaccine centres claiming vaccination shortage,” said Manuke.
She said that the Congress party had come to power in Punjab by promising to end the mafia rule and had also promised to take action against the Badals, who had committed various scams during their tenure, but the Congress and its Cabinet Ministers too are helping the mafia to fearlessly flourish in Punjab proving that both the Badals and the Congress are hands in gloves when it comes to scams.
Stating that the Congress Government has also become a government of scams, Anmol Gagan said that even today, the people of Punjab are being robbed by the sand mafia, spurious liquor mafia, transport mafia and fake medicines mafia.
“The people of Punjab have become aware of the misdeeds of the Congress Government and in the upcoming elections of the Punjab Assembly to be held in 2022, the people of the state will also take account of the vaccine scam and show the way out to the Congress from the state,” she said.