Those who don't chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' be sent to RSS Shakhas: Anil Vij

Chandigarh: Outspoken Haryana Minister Anil Vij on Thursday stoked a controversy by saying people who do not wish to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' should be "sent" to RSS Shakhas.

The Haryana Health and Sports Minister also wanted to know "what is wrong in saying Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and said "these people (who do not wish to chant the slogan) must be sent to RSS Shakhas."

The five-time MLA also said, "It is need of the hour to make children aware about Geeta as it contains history of the country".

The Minister, who had launched a campaign to declare cow as national animal, said "stringent laws" should be enacted to check cow slaughter as it provides milk to people of all religions.

Meanwhile, he termed 'Clinical Establishment Act' as "incomplete" and demanded amendment to it to curb "exorbitant fees" charged by doctors in private clinics.

Vij alleged drug addiction has become a "problem" in Haryana districts neighbouring Punjab.

"Punjab is facing the problem of drug addiction and there have been several cases where youths in districts of Haryana close to Punjab have been found to be addicted to drugs," the BJP Minister, whose party is an ally of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab, said.

He said the Haryana government has been taking preventive, curative and educative measures to make people aware of the problem of drugs.

He said that as many 84 government hospitals in Haryana will be upgraded so they become compliant with standards prescribed by National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Health care (NABH).

"A survey is in process and all 84 government hospitals in the state will be to NABH level in one go soon," he said, adding, "37 per cent of states total budget will be spent on upgrading government hospitals".

However, he admitted that there is an acute shortage of doctors in the state. The capital expenditure in the Health sector will to the tune of Rs 25 crore soon, he said.

Claiming that the number of out and in patients in government hospitals has increased in the recent past, he said. MRI and CT Scan facilities will be made available in all the 21 district hospitals in the state.

Besides, there will be the facility for dialysis in each district level hospital, he added.

He said a digital database of patients will be created in government hospitals and government medical colleges.

Besides, laboratory reports of patients will be sent to them on their mobiles through text messages, he said. He said that his department will create a separate cadre of specialist doctors.

Biometric attendance of staff of hospitals will made compulsory, he said. He said the government had given a Letter of Intent (LoI) to Sirsa based Dera Sacha Sauda to set up a super speciality hospital.

SGPC has been asked to expedite construction of Shahbad (Kurukshetra district) medical college for which more funds from the Sikh religious body have been received, he said.

"Many trusts are keen to open hospitals in Haryana. One trust has evinced interest to open hospital in Dadri and Faridabad," he said.

About sports, he said a 'Sports Authority of Haryana' (SAH) on the pattern of Sports Authority of India (SAI) will be set up.

He said a 'Sports Council Bill' will be presented in the next cabinet meeting for approval.

SAH will be a constitutional body, he said, adding an Adventure Sports Academy has been set up to promote sports. He said his ministry has taken steps to promote traditional sports like wrestling and Kabaddi.

Every year on March 23, the martrydom day of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, a national-level wrestling competition will be held where the winner will pocket Rs one crore.

Similarly, on September 25, the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya a national level Kabaddi competition will be held where the winners will get Rs one crore. Each village in the state will have a Yoga training centre, he said.

He said the priority of his government will be to end discrimination against sportsmen while providing them government jobs.

Stressing on Yoga, he said that 'Panchkarma' centres will be opened in each district of the state. Government hospitals will have to use bedsheets of different colours on each day of a week.