National Convener of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kajriwal has assured the fraternity of medicos and educationalists that the AAP would end contractual employment to end their exploitation in Punjab, once AAP is voted to power. “Contractual system will be scrapped and all the appointed medicos and teachers will be taken on the regular pay roll”, Kejriwal said while clarifying that all doctors and teachers would be employed on regular basis with respectable monthly emolument to serve the people of Punjab. “While teachers are nation builders, doctors help the society to make robust and healthy citizens, hence we should not let them exploited by the current system”, Kejriwal added. Delhi Chief Minister, while addressing the joint dialogue with doctors and teachers at Patiala, said that providing better salaries and facilities to teachers and doctors is an investment for the future generation of society and not at all cause any burden on the state Ex-Chequer. “Our Poll manifesto will not be a “Chunavi Jumla” like other parties, but AAP’s commitment to the people of Punjab and all the promises we are making in the Manifesto will be fulfilled”, Kejriwal vowed.
Delhi Government in its first budget itself allocated 25% of the total budget for education and in the field of health, a pioneer step for setting up Mohalla Clinics was initiated, Kejriwal said adding that by December 31, number of such Clinics would reach the figure of 1000. “Concept of Mohalla Clinic was widely appreciated worldwide and even in the country like America a debate was being initiated through newspapers like Washington Post and Chicago Times to assess how can the Mohalla Clinic could be replicated in United States of America. Kejriwal said that successful module of Mohalla Clinics would also be implemented in Punjab to provide free medical treatment including tests and medicines to people. Standard of Government schools have improved a lot to match the standard of private schools and in Punjab also syllabus of schools would be upgraded to strengthen Punjabi culture and Punjabiat by highlighting the great martyrs’ sacrifices. Some of the doctors raised the demand of regularisation of nursing homes being operational in the residential area and Kejriwal assured them that the forthcoming AAP Government would look into this in a positive manner.
Replying to concerns of certain doctors, who raised the issue of inflated fee being charged by the medical colleges and claimed that annual fee of MBBS was increased from Rs 13,000 to Rs One Lakh in the recent times and deemed universities have become den of corruption as huge amount of donation was being taken for admission, Kejriwal promises to look into it also. Similarly, Kejriwal also assured that all the vacant posts in each department would be filled apart from overall infrastructure development, if AAP is voted to power in Punjab. “Services of Doctors and teachers would not be utilised for any other work besides there basic work for which they were employed by Government”, Kejriwal said when the gathering rued on deployment on teachers and doctors on other duties like preparing electoral rolls or Census, that is why Delhi Government has already done.
A leading woman Doctor Kirty Sibia presented her module to tackle the menace of drug-abuse and rehabilitation of drug victims. “Apart from breaking supply chain of drugs, it is must to have a blue print for rehabilitation of drug affected youth”, she suggested. AAP National convener Kejriwal said that to rehabilitated drug-affected youth, AAP government would need help of medicos and in response to this entire gathering of medicos raised their hands to pledge their support and promised free treatment of drug affected youth for their rehabilitation. Prominent among other AAP leaders, who were present on the occasion include State Convener Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi, AAP MP Bhagwant Mann, In-charge of Punjab, Sanjay Singh, Head of the Manifesto Committee Kanwar Sandhu, Head of Legal Cell of party, Himmat Singh Shergil, Head of Women Wing, Prof. Baljinder Kaur and all the announced candidates of AAP in the region.