SAD leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday accused Punjab Health Minister Brahm Mohindra of dragging his feet over setting up of a temporary campus for the Rs 925 crore Bathinda AIIMS project.
She also alleged that Mohindra had conspired with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Punjab Ekta Party to derail the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) project.
"Punjab health minister Brahm Mohindra should explain why he did not do his job and approach the Centre for establishing a temporary campus for AIIMS, Bathinda," questioned the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader.
She advised Mohindra to start working for the welfare of the youth and make the temporary AIIMS campus at the Baba Farid University, Faridkot operational immediately.
"This is what you have been elected for. You should have gone to Delhi to get the project expedited," the Union food processing industry minister in the Narendra Modi government said in the statement.
"Instead of doing this you are becoming a co-conspirator in the move to derail AIIMS, Bathinda solely to ensure I do not get credit for bringing the prestigious medical college and university to this constituency," she said.
"The truth of the matter was that the expert committee of PGI had recommended that the temporary campus of AIIMS, Bathinda be established in Faridkot so that the first batch of MBBS for the 2019-20 academic year can be started," she added.
"You (Mohindra) as health minister know this. There is no reason for the Congress government to drag its feet on establishing the campus of such a prestigious project which falls in the assembly segment of its finance minister Manpreet Badal," she said further.
"It is unfortunate that the FM as well as leaders of other political parties including AAP State Convener Bhagwant Mann and PEP leader Sukhpal Khaira have joined hands to derail AIIMS, Bathinda and deny the youth their due," she alleged.
"It was befuddling that Mohindra and his office was not able to comprehend the recommendation of the PGI Expert Committee which clearly stated 'the institutional arrangements' (for Temporary Campus) will have to be worked between Baba Farid University and AIIMS, Bathinda," she said.
The SAD leader further claimed that both the Union ministry as well as PGI, Chandigarh which was the mentor institution for AIIMS, Bathinda had approved the temporary campus.
"However the Punjab government, which should have been first to act on this recommendation, is trying to obfuscate the issue and is purposely derailing the project," she alleged.
"I on my part did my best. I spoke to the Baba Farid Vice Chancellor and Union health minister J P Nadda and even wrote to chief minister Amarinder Singh to start classes of AIIMS, Bathinda at Faridkot," she said.
"Everyone responded except for the Punjab government which is still trying to deny the development," she added.
