Former Punjab Health Minister and senior Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu today strongly condemned the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for its gross negligence toward the healthcare sector and for pushing Punjab’s young doctors to the brink of despair. “Today, government hospitals are in a deplorable state, OPDs have been shut down due to doctors’ strikes, surgeries have been suspended, and patients are facing difficulties – all because the state government has chosen to ignore the legitimate demands of its own medical fraternity.”
“Is this the ‘health model’ that AAP promised before the elections?” Sidhu asked. Sidhu described the imposition of a new ₹20 lakh bond on MBBS students and unnecessary tuition fee hikes as a major assault on the dreams of aspiring doctors, particularly those from middle and lower-income families.
He explained that becoming a doctor today already costs students ₹13-14 lakh, which is already excessive, and this new ₹20 lakh bond is outright exploitation. Instead of resolving the demands of these future doctors, the government is burdening them with more debt.
Balbir Singh Sidhu stated that despite their 24/7 commitment to public health, Punjab’s resident doctors receive the lowest stipends in the entire country. On top of this, the new bond policy is exploitative, and the fee hike is making it impossible for deserving students to pursue medical education, pushing them out of the system.
Sidhu criticized Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for watching the state’s healthcare system collapse without taking any action to save it. He asked, “Where is the ‘revolution’ you were supposed to bring to the education and health systems?
The improvements our government had made in both education and health sectors have been destroyed by the Aam Aadmi Party government’s poor policies.”He emphasized that the doctors’ strike is a call for justice.
These are the same young professionals who served tirelessly during COVID-19, and now they are being punished for demanding their rights. Balbir Singh Sidhu demanded that “the ₹20 lakh bond policy be immediately withdrawn, the stipends of these doctors be increased immediately, and this unjustified tuition fee hike be rolled back.”
Former Health Minister Sidhu warned the government that “AAP’s policies will force Punjab’s medical students to leave Punjab or abandon medical education entirely, leading to a severe shortage of doctors in the future. Even currently, Punjab is struggling with a major shortage of doctors in its government hospitals, affecting healthcare services.”
Sidhu said, “There can be no compromise with Punjab’s health. A government that fails to protect its patients and doctors has done nothing for its people. The Chief Minister should now intervene personally and immediately accept these doctors’ demands to end their strike, so that our patients don’t face further difficulties.”
Finally, he stated, “The Congress Party stands firmly with young doctors and the people of Punjab, and we demand immediate action from the government.“
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