Punjab Congress on Thursday sought the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice to prevent shifting of prestigious AIIMS hospital from Kapurthala district (Doaba) to Bathinda “for political considerations by the Badal family”.
The Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira, in a letter sent to the Chief Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar, requested to take immediate cognizance of a “blunder” being committed by the Punjab Government “merely to satisfy political ego of the Badal family”, and treat his letter as public interest litigation (PIl).
He pointed that the Centre has allocated AIIMS for Punjab, and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, while announcing its allocation in June last year, had publically promised to set up this prestigious hospital in Doaba region.
He had instructed the district administrations of Kapurthala and Jalandhar to arrange approximately 200 acres of land for this purpose after which Kapurthala DC sent a proposal of 200 acres land situated on the National Highway 1 of Amritsar-Jalandhar, he added.
Khaira said that the said location on the GT road was very beneficial not only to the four districts of Doaba, but would have also covered all the districts of Majha including the border belt.
“It is pertinent to mention that there is not a single government hospital of quality healthcare that can cater to the needs of poor of Doaba and Majha areas. The poor and needy patients of the said areas have to travel to PGI Chandigarh for quality treatment, as the private commercial hospitals of Jalandhar and Amritsar are beyond the reach of these people,” read the letter.
“Unfortunately, Chief Minister and his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Badal misusing their official position, have now hijacked the said AIIMS hospital to Bathinda,” it added.