AIIMS should stay in Doaba region, says BJP legislator

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 5

After former Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira and Congress MP Santokh Singh flayed the state government for their decision to shift AIIMS to Bathinda, BJP MLA Manoranjan Kalia too has joined the chorus, saying the project should remain in the Doaba region.

In a Facebook post today, he wrote, “Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda and the Punjab Government should review and reconsider the decision of setting up All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bathinda. During the regime of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the policy of opening clusters of AIIMS in different states was carved out and six clusters were allocated to different states. In 2004-05, I communicated through a letter to former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to take up the matter with the then UPA Government to open a cluster of AIIMS at the newly constructed hospital in Jalandhar at Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Doaba region to cater to (patients of) Doaba and Malwa regions to lessen the burden of the PGI, Chandigarh. The new cluster of AIIMs should be constructed in the heart of Punjab near Jalandhar.”

Former Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira and MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh had termed the setting up of AIIMS at Bathinda “a matter of great shame” and “yet another injustice” for the Doaba region. The Jalandhar MP also said he would take up the issue in Parliament.