AAP holds protest against Punjab govt, accuses it of 'diverting' Covid vaccines to private hospitals
The AAP workers led by MLAs Saravjit Kaur Manuke, Jai Kishan Singh Rodi and Amarjit Singh Sandoa marched towards the residence of the health minister to ''gherao'' his house in Mohali.
The party sought dismissal of Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu from the cabinet and registration of a case against him over the issue of alleged "diversion" of Covid-19 vaccines.
The workers shouted slogans against the Amarinder Singh-led government and also burnt the effigy of the health minister.
Addressing the protesters in Mohali on Sunday, the AAP leaders alleged that the health minister had proved to be a "complete failure" in ensuring better health facilities to the people of Punjab amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The AAP leaders alleged that the health minister is cheating the people of Punjab by selling the vaccines, meant for the people of the state, to private hospitals.
Mohali district administration had made elaborate security arrangements keeping in view the protest call given by AAP. The police tried to stop the protestors but they managed to remove the barricading.
The police later detained AAP leaders and workers and took them to the Matour police station from where they were later released.
The Punjab government on Friday had issued an order to take back Covid vaccines given to private hospitals with immediate effect after the opposition targeted it for allegedly"diverting" the doses to the private health facilities.
The health minister had then said the instruction of providing one-time limited vaccine doses to private hospitals had been withdrawn.
The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Punjab Assembly Harpal Singh Cheema said that Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government has committed a massive vaccine scam.
"Health Minister Balbir Sidhu should be immediately removed from the Punjab Cabinet and a criminal case should be registered against the persons involved in the vaccine scam. These were no ordinary injections but a life-saving drug to prevent Covid," said Harpal Singh Cheema.
He also accused the Punjab government of making huge profits by selling free vaccines to private hospitals.
“It was the right of the people of Punjab to get free vaccination. The government should immediately refund the money to the people of Punjab who were robbed by private hospitals due to the vaccine scam," Cheema said.
Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal will also hold a protest against the health minister on Monday. The protest will be led by party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.