Pharmacists allege bogus registrations, want poll deferred

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 1
Punjab State Pharmacy Officers Association has criticised the government for issuing notification on the Punjab Pharmacy Council election without resolving the issue of bogus registrations of pharmacists with the council.
The association leaders alleged that those with bogus registrations would have the right to cast their vote and as such the election could not be conducted in a fair manner.
Palwinder Singh Dhammu, general secretary of the association, said the case of bogus registration was already with the vigilance department and several persons had been arrested. He alleged that of the nearly 70,000 total registrations with the council at least 10,000 had been done to benefit non-deserving candidates. He said several pharmacy diploma holders were registered as pharmacists by bypassing the prescribed eligibility criteria.
District president Ashok Kumar Sharma said, “With 10,000 bogus registrations, the result of the council election can be easily manipulated. We have asked the government to complete the investigation prior to conducting the elections.” He said the association would also move an application in the high court in this regard.
Shamsher Singh Kohri, patron of the association said, “It is not understandable why the government is in a hurry to conduct the elections when the investigations into bogus registrations is under way. On one hand the government has registered a case for these unlawful registrations, while on the other it is trying to give voting right to the ineligible members.”
The association demanded from the government to postpone the elections till the investigations were complete. It has also demanded to fast track the probe so that those responsible could be punished at the earliest.