Acting health minister falters twice in House

Patna: The question hour in the state assembly on Friday saw repeated interventions by senior ministers after the minister incharge of the health department, Pramod Kumar Chandravanshi, struggled to give clear replies on key health-related issues, prompting the Speaker and members from across the House to step in and restore order.During the pre-lunch session, Chandravanshi, deputising for health minister Mangal Pandey, faced short-notice questions from two MLAs that exposed gaps in the govt’s responses. One question, raised by I P Gupta, related to Bihar’s high infant mortality rate (IMR) and low per capita health expenditure, which Gupta said was less than Rs 1,000 per person per year. He sought reasons for the limited spending on health care services.Replying initially, Chandravanshi cited figures on increased expenditure on medicines, saying spending had risen from Rs 215 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 750 crore in 2024-25. However, this failed to satisfy the Speaker or Gupta, leading parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary to intervene.Another question, raised by Raghvendra Pratap Singh, sought clarity on the introduction of cashless health care services for lawmakers.

Singh said such services were operational in UP and Jharkhand. As several MLAs complained about delayed reimbursements, deputy CM Samrat Choudhary said he had held three meetings on the issue. On the Speaker’s direction, he agreed to convene a “final meeting” within a week.Chandravanshi also faltered while replying to a question by Nitish Mishra on staffing norms at community health centres. “It would be done in the next financial year,” he said.

His response triggered laughter in the House before Samrat clarified that posts had already been sanctioned in 2025 and appointments would be made soon.The session also saw confusion when Chandravanshi mixed up replies related to different constituencies while addressing a question on a blood bank, and struggled with technical terms. Separately, concerns were raised over the safety of the assembly building after a portion of plaster fell from the portico ceiling, narrowly missing several MLAs.