Amarinder, Bajwa visit victims at Amritsar hospital, but separately

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 13

Chinks in the Punjab Congress came to the fore with Amritsar MP Capt Amarinder Singh and PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa separately visiting botched eye surgery victims at Ram Lal Eye Hospital today.

Bajwa’s supporters said his visit to the hospital was scheduled, but Amarinder’s visit was not planned as his flight to New Delhi got delayed.

Amarinder was accompanied by CLP leader Sunil Jakhar and local Congress leaders, including all three party MLAs from Amritsar.

The two leaders visited the patients in the morning hours within a gap of few minutes.

Both leaders sought criminal proceedings against those responsible for botched eye surgeries while terming the compensation announced by the government as meagre.

Amarinder condemned the monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 announced by the government saying, “It is a cruel joke on the victims. Moreover, there is no guarantee that they will continue to get the assistance as the government has repeatedly defaulted in several similar cases.”

He demanded that the government must provide adequate compensation which could earn sufficient monthly interest income for the victims. He hinted that he might move the high court on the matter.

Capt meets kin of Iraq hostages

Amarinder later met relatives of the hostages allegedly held by ISIS in Iraq and assured them that he would take up the matter with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

He said it was high time that the Central Government cleared doubts about their fate. He said the issue of conversion from one faith to another was a matter of personal faith and choice and it must remain so.