On Saturday (July 30), the Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Dr Raj Bahadur, tendered his resignation to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
The development comes a day after he was publicly humiliated and mocked by State Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra. In a video clip shared by news agency ANI, the Punjab Health Minister was seen miffed with the ‘poor condition’ of patient beds at the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital.
Chetan Singh Jouramajra visited the hospital on Friday (July 29) to take stock of the infrastructure and arrangements. In a display of complete lack of sensitivity, Jouramajra forced Dr Raj Bahadur to lie on the bed and have the first-hand experience of a patient.
The State Health Minister was also heard speaking rudely with Dr Raj Bahadur. Distraught by the treatment meted out to him, the Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences resigned from his post.
Meanwhile, Dr Rajiv Devgan, Director-Principal of Government Medical College, and Dr Kanwardeep Singh, Medical Superintendent of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, have also resigned from their posts.
While the duo cited personal reasons and excessive workload for their decision, the timing of the resignation has revealed the brewing resentment within the medical community.
The Indian Orthopaedic Association has condemned the action of Punjab Health Minister, Chetan Singh Jouramajra, who is just 12th pass as per his election affidavit.
“Our Medical profession is under a lot of pressure from political administrators. Some of them when given the authority by the public for the betterment of the society, have been unable to digest these powers bestowed on them, and tend to vomit it out at every nook and corner,” it said.
“The derogatory behaviour of Punjab Health minister with a man at the highest pedestal of academics makes us to feel that we are being ruled by the like of a Taliban state. The power seems to have gone to some individuals who never deserved it,” the letter added.
The Indian Orthopaedic Association emphasised, “This is surely a black day for medical services in the State of Punjab.”
Several scientists and eminent personalities have also rebuked Punjab Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra.
Scientist Anand Ranganathan said, “Shocking beyond measure. Dr Raj Bahadur is a treasure, the pride of India. So many of the techniques that he has developed and pioneered in the field of spine surgery are in standard medical textbooks the world over. If this is the way we treat our doctors, we have no future.”