The North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) has strongly condemned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab Government for betraying the people of Punjab by not fulfilling its high-profile promise to establish an AIIMS hospital in each district of the state.
NAPA Executive Director Satnam Singh Chahal expressed grave concern over the recent clarification by the Central Government that there is no proposal to establish an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jalandhar or any other new district of Punjab under the current phase of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). Chahal called this a blatant betrayal of the trust of the people of Punjab, who were misled with grand promises during the 2022 Assembly elections.
“AAP leaders went from town to town promising one AIIMS per district—raising the hopes of people in need of quality healthcare. Now, the Centre’s official statement has exposed the lie. It is clear that these promises were just election-time gimmicks, designed to grab votes with no intention of being fulfilled,” said Chahal.
He added that the Punjabi diaspora across North America is deeply disappointed. Many families hoped that these hospitals would bring relief to their loved ones living in rural and semi-urban Punjab, where access to advanced healthcare remains limited. “The promise of AIIMS-level healthcare was not just a development agenda—it was a lifeline for thousands of underprivileged families, and now that lifeline has been cruelly cut off,” he added.
NAPA questioned why the AAP Government made such large-scale announcements without proper coordination or confirmation from the Central Government. “Is this how responsible governance works—by making hollow promises and blaming others later? The health of Punjab’s people should not be reduced to a tool of political manipulation,” said Chahal.
Punjab continues to face a healthcare crisis, with shortages of doctors, poorly equipped hospitals, and lack of specialized care, especially in rural areas. The establishment of AIIMS-level hospitals could have transformed the landscape of public health in the state. Instead, the AAP Government has done nothing but raise expectations and then abandon them.
NAPA has called on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to publicly explain why the promise of one AIIMS per district was made if there was no coordination with the Centre or a concrete roadmap to achieve it. NAPA also urged the Government of Punjab to come clean on other unfulfilled health sector promises and to issue an apology to the people of the state for misleading them.
“This is not just political deception; this is a betrayal of the hopes of the sick, the elderly, the poor, and the marginalized. The AAP Government must be held accountable,” Chahal emphasized.
NAPA reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for better healthcare infrastructure in Punjab and warned that continued misinformation and failure to deliver on promises will only deepen the gap between the people and those in power.