Mohindra slaps criminal defamation suit on LIP’s Bains
PATIALA : Punjab health minister Brahm Mohindra on Wednesday filed a criminal defamation suit against Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) president and Ludhiana MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains, who had alleged that the minister is involved in a scam in the purchase of medicines.
Accompanied with his lawyers, Mohindra deposed before the court of judicial magistrate Nidhi Saini to record his statement to initiate court proceedings in the case filed under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“Bains has levelled baseless allegations against me just to get cheap publicity. There is not even an iota of truth in his allegations. I had given him a chance to withdraw his statements and tender apology, but he didn’t, so I am left with no option except to file a defamation case,” said Mohindra.
Talking to the media, he said he felt compelled to file the case as Bains has tried to target his “honesty and integrity”.
He said he cannot comment upon the case further, as the matter has become sub-judice.
Notably, Bains had last month alleged that Mohindra is associated with a pharmaceutical company and he is pressuring drug de-addiction centres to purchase a particular medicine at exorbitant rates.
Later, he alleged a “scam in the making” in purchase of medicine in the health department, saying the department has tailored specification of tenders to suit these to some particular companies to buy medicines at higher rates.
He claimed that conditions such as World Health Organisation (WHO) certification and turnover of Rs 50 crore had been introduced to benefit some multi-nationals. Later, he wrote two letters to chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh demanding Mohindra’s removal from the cabinet and a CBI probe into the matter.
In his petition, Mohindra has charged that he himself has ordered probe on the basis of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report against the said company in 2017. Besides, he has marked an inquiry into the purchase of various items and took several measures for transparency. He accused Bains of making allegations at the behest of some pharmaceutical companies. Meanwhile, Bains told the media in Ludhiana that he will present documents to prove his point that the minister is involved in the scam.