left out in the cold, “miffed” Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing his “strong surprise, dismay and displeasure” for not being invited for the foundation stone laying ceremony of a cancer hospital in Sangrur district.
Expressing displeasure over the “grave and avoidable political impropriety involved in keeping Punjab in the dark” about the event, Badal strongly urged the Prime Minister to “impress upon his colleagues not to allow politics to take precedence over issues of development and governmental duties or to override basic governmental courtesies”.
Badal, in his letter against the “unwarranted move”, maintained that by not inviting the Punjab Government at a function to lay the foundation stone of cancer hospital, the Centre has “violated federal system”.
“It is unfortunate that despite the fact that I had personally pursued this project and the State Government has given 25-acre free land to the hospital, the Centre has, due to its vested interest, did not bother to invite us at the function,” said Badal.
“I have personally urged the Union Health Ministry to accord approval to this project and with continuous efforts and persistent follow-up by the State Government, it had been okayed…. considering its importance and necessity… State Government ensured timely handing over of the site to the Ministry,” he added.
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will lay the foundation of the 300-bedded super-speciality hospital, which would serve as a satellite centre of Chandigarh’s Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), in Ghabdan village of Sangrur — to primarily cater the cancer-prone agriculturally fertile Malwa belt of the state.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is expected to be present at the event, and will also address a public rally at Sangrur later. As the state Congress leadership is projecting the ceremony as an “all-Congress affair”, the ruling Akali Dal has alleged that not only the Chief Minister but the entire SAD-BJP leadership had been ignored on the issue.
“Though health is a state subject, but by ignoring the state government at this important event, the Congress leadership has vindicated our stand that it is deliberately encroaching upon the rights of the state thereby diluting nation’s federal structure,” the veteran Akali leader said.
Visibly upset, Badal claimed that the projects for cancer hospitals in Ferozepur and Sangrur were conceived by the State Government, for which they had given land to the PGIMER also. However, owing to their “narrow mindset”, the UPA government has not even bothered to give a courtesy call to us, he added.
“The Congress leaders should have refrained from stooping so low,” asserted the 85-year-old leader.
“It does not behove such leadership to stoop so low while indulging in politicking on the projects related to the prosperity and welfare of general public,” Badal said while talking with the reporters on the sidelines of ninth annual conference of Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM) at Trinity College in Jalandhar.
Badal said that the “spirit of co-operative federalism”, working together of the Union and the state governments for state’s and country’s development and prosperity, had been dealt a severe blow by “this needless act of cheap political gimmickry”.
Chief Minister said: “I am personally satisfied and happy over the foundation stone of this prestigious project, but ignoring state government completely is intolerable as it involved not just issues of protocol but also of great political impropriety.”
Objecting both to the “manner and motive” behind the move without keeping state government in the loop, Badal said that this smacked of a low-level petty politicking gimmick.