Chandigarh: The Union health ministry’s letter to Punjab government seeking a report regarding the law on babies born through in-vitro-fertilisation (IVF) technology in connection with the IVF treatment of the slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala’s mother on Wednesday kicked off a political blame game.
Even though the Punjab government seemed to pass the buck to the central government, the alacrity with which it acted on the letter drew severe criticism from the opposition.
Notably, the state government is reported to have procured the information from the Jindal Heart Institute and Infertility Centre, Bathinda, where Sidhu Moosewala’s mother Charan Kaur, was operated upon. The doctors attending upon her told newspersons on Wednesday that they had treated her as she had come to them four months pregnant. It was also reliably learnt that the parents of Moosewala had undergone the IVF process abroad.
However, the controversy was whipped up after the ministry in its letter quoted a news report that Moosewala’s mother Charan Kaur had undergone IVF treatment at the age of 58 and was successful in conceiving a baby – the elderly couple welcomed a baby boy on March, 17, last. The letter dated March 14, said: "Under the Section 21(g) of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, the age limit prescribed for a woman going under ART services is between 21-50 years. Therefore you are requested to look into the matter and submit a report to the department of the action taken in the case as per the ART (Regulation) Act, 2021’’.
It may be recalled that popular Punjabi singer-rapper Sidhu Moosewala was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29, 2022. He had also unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Punjab assembly election on Congress ticket from Mansa.
However, a major controversy was whipped up when Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh, accused the chief minister Bhagwant Mann-led state AAP government of harassment.
In a video message posted on X, he alleged that the Punjab government was questioning the family over the legality of the child. He said that he wanted to request the government, particularly the chief minister, to have mercy, at least till the treatment of his wife got over, and that he belonged here and would come to any place the government called him for questioning to provide all the legal documents.
This evoked strong criticism from the opposition leaders who urged the AAP government to stop harassing the family. Congress state president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and leader of opposition Partap Bajwa rued that instead of congratulating the family on the birth of his newborn son, the state government was bothering it with its legal hurdles. The BJP had also said that it was shocking to hear the statement of Sidhu Moosewala’s father.
AAP HITS BACK
However, the Punjab AAP held that it was the Central government which had sought a report from Punjab government regarding the IVF treatment of Charan Kaur and that the CM Bhagwant Mann always respects the sentiment and dignity of Punjabis, it’s the Central government that has asked for the documents. The state health minister Dr Balbir Singh also lashed out at the Centre government for the same.
