Taking the ongoing war of words between them to the next level, the Punjab Cabinet Minister and BJP leader Anil Joshi and SAD’s senior leader Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal on Sunday fired fresh salvo against each other on Sunday.
The two leaders are at loggerheads over the inquiry ordered against Grewal’s younger brother Dr GS Grewal, who is also the Punjab Medical Council president. Grewal has alleged that Joshi, heading the state Medical Education and Research Ministry, has acted beyond his jurisdiction by ordered an inquiry against PMC chief.
Describing Grewal’s allegations as “totally false”, Joshi has asked him to study PMC Act and Code of Ethics himself.
“The utterings by Mahesh Inder Grewal that Joshi does not understand English is ridiculous as Section 22 of the Act is in a very simple language and even a Class X student could very easily understand that government can take action in all such cases,” said an official statement, issued by Joshi’s office along with relevant code and rules.
It added, “It is very clearly mentioned in the Allocation of Business Rules (Item 15) that the Department of Medical Education and Research is the appropriate authority and is Government for the department or all councils and the nomination of members in various councils etc too is made by the Minister as per the standing orders framed under the Rules of Business.”
“It is sad to state that Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, who had been Minister of this department, does not have any knowledge of this and is making vague statements in the media out of sheer love for his brother and ignoring government rules and regulations,” it stated.
Joshi, in the statement, stated that Grewal needs to understand that the Minister of the medical education department is not supposed to teach students of medical stream and is to see the administrative work and to implement the policies for benefit of the general public with a battery of officers on Special Duty or Advisers at their beck and call.
He said that there have been complaints from about a dozen doctors against Dr Grewal in regard to his so-called corruption and wrongful and illegal mention of their Income Tax statements, which is perhaps a cyber-crime also.
“Written complaints by many doctors against PMC president are under investigation. Even a complaint had been forwarded by the Union Health Minister to the state Medical Education and Research Minister against Dr Grewal some months back,” he said while pointing that Dr Grewal himself is a nominated member and has not contested any election.
Reiterating his stand, Joshi said that the state government has all powers under Section 22 of the Act to take action if it finds that Council has exceeded its power or abused or misused the power can seek explanation from the council and if council does not comply with can even dissolve the council.
Joshi made it clear that there was “nothing personal in the entire issue” and the affairs of the Council must be held in a pure transparent and professional manner and no in justice be done to any doctor practising in a rightful manner.