The District Congress Committee (Urban) on Friday staged a protest against the Punjab government by burning an effigy of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.On this occasion, Congress workers raised strong slogans against the Punjab government terming its health insurance scheme a political stunt. Speaking at the protest, District President Rajinder Beri said that the Punjab government, in the final year of its tenure, had played a political stunt to lure the people of Punjab and this political scheme is not going to work.”The people of Punjab are no longer going to fall for these false promises. This scheme belongs to the Punjab government, not to the Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP has given a machine to the ward coordinator in every ward, from which the coordinator issues a slip and tells people where to go to get the card made, which is completely wrong. If this scheme is for all the people of Punjab, then these cards should be made directly at service centres, not at the offices of AAP MLAs or constituency in-charges. This is nothing but an attempt to collect the data of the people of Punjab”, the DCC chief said.He questioned, “If the AAP is truly so concerned about the welfare of the people, then why did it not care about people’s health over the past four years? Why has it suddenly started worrying about public health only in the election year? Whatever the AAP has been doing in Delhi, it is doing the same in Punjab, but the people of Punjab are not going to fall for these political tricks anymore.”Beri had on Monday last visited the gynaecology ward of the Civil Hospital and had taken a jibe against the AAP government for paying two hoots to the cleanliness and patient care. Going live on Facebook, Beri had said that he was shocked to see the poor sanitation conditions on the ward. He showed all clogged units in the washroom which seemed to have not been cleaned for weeks. While doors of some washrooms were lying broken, the tanks had been filled with waste bottles in other units. He even talked to the patients and their attendants in his FB live, all of whom said that they were unable to use the washrooms in the premises and had to go outside to answer the nature’s call. The attendants’ lounge had no furniture and the patients were seen lying on the floor having spread their own sheets.Beri had said that the AAP leaders, who raised slogans of a health revolution on stages, need to take out some time and visit the gynaecology ward of the Civil Hospital and see the condition of the washrooms. “If the AAP government is unable to provide the basic facilities to the patients, it should hand over the hospital to a private firm, just as the city’s intersections too were being built by the private firms. This work too seems to be beyond your capacity”, Beri ridiculed the local AAP leaders.Beri said, “We appeal to Punjab Health Minister, Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar and the Civil Surgeon to at least pay attention to cleanliness. In the wathrooms, the door latches need to be repaired, the damaged fixtures need to be reinstalled, and the hanging cobwebs from the ceilings need to be removed. If the government is giving crores of rupees for a health revolution, then where are those crores of rupees going? The Civil Hospital administration will also have to answer this. I appeal to the CM to come and see the situation himself. You have taken many rides in helicopters. Now come down to the ground level and visit Civil Hospital Jalandhar and see the plight of the patients. It has never been that pathetic”.Others who joined today’s protest with Beri were Surinder Kaur, Constituency In-charge Jalandhar West, Pawan Kumar, Gurvinderpal Bunty Neelkanth, Mahinder Singh Gullu, Dr Jasleen Sethi, Paramjit Bal, Manmohan Billa, Mandeep Jassal, Jagdish Dakoha and others.