SAD leader Sukhbir Badal urges PM to order probe into purchase of faulty ventilators

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badalon Wednesday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an inquiry intothe purchase of faulty ventilators under the aegis of the PM CARES Fund.

There were reports that 71 out of the 80 ventilatorsreceived by Guru Gobind Singh Medical College in Faridkot under the fund werefound to be defective.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the SAD Presidentsaid, "I am sure you would agree with me that supplying defective andinferior quality ventilators during a time of national health emergency is acriminal offence. The company responsible for this should be booked and shouldbe proceeded against as per the law."

Sukhbir Badal also told the Prime Minister that it isequally important to probe the entire purchase order.

"It is very important to ascertain if defectiveventilators were purchased deliberately because the entire issue smacks of abig scam. Action should be taken against all those responsible for endangeringthe lives of Covid patients, however big they may be," he said.

The SAD chief also requested the Prime Minister that allpurchases under the PM CARES Fund be subjected to the same vigorous process ofselection as is done for the orders of the Union government.

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"All medical equipment bought under the PM CARESFund should be of international standards and should ideally be purchased afterplacing a global tender. Stringent quality standards should be laid out for allmedical purchases to ensure patients' lives are not put to risk under anycircumstances." he added.

Explaining the issue in his missive to the PrimeMinister, the SAD President said the faulty ventilators had caused loss oflives in Punjab besides hampering the country's fight against the Covidpandemic.

In another request to the Prime Minister, Sukhbir Badalbrought it to his notice that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee(SGPC) had applied for permission to import Covid vaccines to supplement theUnion government's efforts.

He requested the Union government to grant permission tothe SGPC for this humanitarian cause.