Guwahati : The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has strongly opposed the state government’s move to increase fees for medical examinations and other services under the health department by up to 20 per cent.

The party’s president, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, and general secretary, Jagdish Bhuyan, stated in a press release on Tuesday that private sector hospitals and pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of the government’s indifference by increasing the prices of medicines and tests. 

They emphasized that government hospitals are places of reliance for the general public, and it is necessary to take measures to prevent the spread of diseases. The continuous price hikes of essential commodities have already burdened the people, and any increase in the costs of medical examinations in government hospitals will become unbearable for the poor.

They criticized Himanta Biswa Sarma, noting that during his long tenure as health minister and now as Chief Minister, he has failed to improve the quality of the state health department.

They highlighted the poor conditions of government hospitals and stated that the government should have made health services completely free, given the poor state of health services in Assam.

They recalled that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had emphasized that health, education, and social justice should be free. However, the BJP government is putting a price on these essential services while making other things free, thereby destroying the economic and social equality of the country.

In the interest of the general public, the AJP demanded the withdrawal of the proposed price hike in health check-ups and other related fees.