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Punjab: Hospital V-C resigns day after 'public humiliation' by minister
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann reportedly spoke to Dr. Bahadur late Friday night to pacify him. However, he did not withdraw the resignation.

Punjab: Hospital V-C resigns day after 'public humiliation' by minister

Jul 30, 2022
04:12 pm

What's the story

The vice-chancellor (V-C) of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Dr. Raj Bahadur, in Faridkot, Punjab, resigned from his position just one day after being publicly embarrassed on camera by Chetan Singh Jouramajra, the Health Minister of Punjab. Dr. Bahadur sent his resignation letter to the state government on Saturday. Opposition leaders in Punjab have criticized the minister's actions as "cheap theatrics."

Incident

What exactly happened?

After receiving concerns about the cleanliness of hospital wards, the state's health minister, joined by the press and cameras, entered the government hospital and asked Dr. Bahadur to lie down on a patient's bed on Friday. As soon as he gets out of the bed, Jouramajra is reportedly heard saying to the doctor, "It's all in your hands, it's all in your hands."

Details

More details regarding the incident

At this point, someone lifts the mattress off the bed and draws Dr. Bahadur's attention to its poor condition, further embarrassing the top official. Afterward, the minister requests the doctor to show him the conditions of the stores in the hospital. Following the incident, Congress leader Pargat Singh criticized Jouramajra's action. "This type of mob behavior will only demoralize our medical staff," he stated.

Twitter Post

Here's the video of the incident

Context

CM Mann earlier sacked health minister over corruption charges

To recall, in May, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann ousted the then Health Minister Vijay Singla from the cabinet after strong evidence of corruption was allegedly found against him. The Punjab Police was ordered to file a case against him. Following Mann's unprecedented decision, the CM's Office stated Singla "was demanding a 1% commission from officials for contracts" and "concrete evidence was found against him."