Supporting the demands of the doctors, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) strongly opposed the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government’s move of reducing the practice allowances (financial benefits) of government medical doctors and veterinary doctors; terming it as a terrible joke of the government. Expressing this here on Wednesday, AAP’s Medical Wing state co-president, Dr Sanjeev Sharma said that the decision of the Congress government to reduce the practice allowance of doctors, from 25 per cent to 20 per cent; who risked their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic was a blow to the doctors. He said that the government would have given Covid allowance to the doctors, who saved the lives of the people during the Covid period regardless of their lives; but the government has decided to reduce the salaries already paid.In a statement issued to the media, Dr Sanjeev Sharma said that the Punjab government had abolished most of the allowances in the report of the pay commission under a big conspiracy and had also abolished the allowances recommended by the commission.
He alleged that the abolition of doctors' allowance by the Punjab government would result in huge financial loss to the doctors. Sharma said that every section was in a state of despair with the decisions of the government and the promises made by the Congress party to form its government in 2017 had not been fulfilled yet. “With just a few months left in the government, the government is implementing decisions that are sure to cause great harm to the general public and employees,” he added.Dr Sanjeev Sharma said that this is why the government is hiring medical staff on contractual basis, so that they do not have to pay all these allowances. He said that today the situation was such that the educated youth of the state were struggling on the streets to get jobs and the government was continuously reducing the facilities of those who were employed. “Due to this every section of Punjab is frustrated and upset with the Congress government,” he added. Dr Sanjeev said the government should restore the 25 per cent practice allowance of the doctors with basic pay and make rural veterinary pharmacists permanent. He said that the Congress government of Punjab was the most useless government in the state and its certificates were being distributed by the senior Congress leaders themselves.