The incident came to light after a video of Punjab Health Minister Jouramajra telling the vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences to lie down on a ruined mattress went viral.
The old medical officer can be seen nervously obeying the minister’s directions, and the minister afterwards chastised him for the terrible conditions of the hospital wards.
“The Health Minister, who found a minor discrepancy in sanitary conditions and bed sheets had humiliated the VC, Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences, Dr. Raj Bahadur to lay on the bedsheet. The IMA leaders also condemned the stooping to the diktats of the Health Minister,” read a statement.
Terming the act by the health minister as a curse on the noble profession, IMA demanded Chief Minister Bhagwant Maan’s intervention.
“The derogatory behaviour of the minister as well as the stooping of the person of the stature of the Vice Chancellor is nothing less than a curse on the noble profession in particular and society in general. The CM, Bhagwant Maan should immediately intervene and ask his minister to apologise for it and refrain from such behaviour in future,” the statement added.
The medical association also warned that “stern measures must be taken to restore the pride and prestige of the medical brotherhood.”
The episode sparked criticism for the health minister’s actions, and the opposition called on the Bhagwant Mann-led administration to fire the “power-drunk minister.”
