Cong leaders seek resignation of Health Minister, burn effigy

Hours after Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh announced the dismissal of a doctor and suspension of three others posted at the Civil Hospital here on Wednesday for the deaths of three patients due to oxygen shortage, Congress leaders burnt his effigy and sought his resignation.

The Congress held a protest outside the Civil Hospital. The protest was led by Rajinder Beri, president of the Jalandhar District Congress Committee and former MLA. Beri demanded that the Health Minister should resign, taking responsibility for the deaths. He alleged that the hospital staff were responsible for the lapse and that a high-level inquiry should be conducted to punish those responsible.

Beri also criticised the AAP government, saying that they were more interested in publicity stunts than actual governance. He demanded that the government should take immediate action to address the issue and provide justice to the families of the deceased.

MLA and secretary of the All-India Congress Committee Pargat Singh also launched a scathing attack on the AAP government for attempting to escape responsibility by merely suspending a few doctors. Calling the incident an institutional failure, he said, “Three precious lives have been lost. This isn’t just a tragedy. It’s criminal negligence. The government must file FIRs against those responsible. Simply suspending doctors will not save the face. Accountability must begin from the top.”

Pargat Singh held the Health Minister directly responsible for this failure and demanded his immediate resignation. “Who will be held accountable if a basic life-support system like an ICU oxygen plant fails? Shouldn’t the Health Minister and department heads be answerable too?” he asked.

He further said the suspensions appeared to be a “public relations tactic rather than a meaningful step toward justice”, and he will raise the issue in the upcoming Assembly session. “Lives aren’t saved by posters, but by preparation. The government must come down from hoardings and face ground reality,” he said.

Pargat Singh’s listed out his demands from the government, "There should be an immediate technical audit of ICU oxygen supply systems across Punjab. Structural reforms must be brought about in Punjab's public health infrastructure. FIRs should be lodged against those responsible for negligence. Accountability of hospital administrators and the Health Department officials must be fixed."

He added that while AAP boasts about “health revolutions", the ground situation shows a crumbling system. The incident has proven that the government is more focused on headlines than on hospitals, he took on the government.

Congress leader and former member of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti of the Civil Hospital Sanjay Sehgal too has demanded legal action and accountability against doctors and staff. "The recent decision to merely suspend certain doctors and staff members of the Civil Hospital is unacceptable. It reflects a soft and indifferent attitude towards gross medical negligence, professional misconduct, and systemic failure in public healthcare. FIRs must be lodged against them for dereliction of duty, endangering lives, and violation of medical ethics. The suspension alone does not deliver justice to the victims or serve as a deterrent to future wrongdoers. I urge the Health Department to scrutinise the service records of all doctors and staff who have been posted in the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, for more than 10 years. Prolonged postings at a single station often breed complacency, corruption, and local nexus. Such officials must be immediately transferred to break the monopoly and ensure transparency."