Following the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government considered reopening the primary health centres in the state, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday said the CM Bhagwant Mann government has taken another U-Turn.
“A better sense seems to have prevailed and the AAP now plans to reopen the Primary Health Centres. It’s always better late than never. However, the AAP government should also explain who would be responsible for the expenses it used to convert the Primary Health Centres into Aam Aadmi Clinics at the first place. Would the Aam Aadmi Party deposit it from its party funds?”, Bajwa asked.
Citing a news report Bajwa said that the AAP government is planning to explore the possibility of reopening the PHCs on the same premises because the Union Health Ministry had stopped the funds of Rs 650 crore under the National Health Mission.
Notably, the centre had stopped Punjab’s grant under NHM because the state government failed to follow the branding norms of Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres. Besides this, CM Bhagwant Mann’s photo on the AAC logo was also a bone contention.
Senior Congress Leader Bajwa said that the Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann now urged the Punjab Police to intensify its crusade against the drug menace. Earlier, he had held cycle rallies for the same purpose.
“The Punjab CM seems to have understood that it’s not the cycle rallies that would make the difference in getting rid of the drug abuse in the state but a chalking out a concrete strategy and making the police accountable would certainly bring the change”, Bajwa added.
He said that the cycles rallies were in fact nothing but an opportunity for self-promotion.