Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Bhupinder Singh Hooda, MP, flayed the decision of the Haryana Government to close down the Maharaja Aggarsen Medical College, Agroha. The closure of the medical college had been a pre-planned exercise of the HVP-BJP alliance government and smacked of political vengeance, he added.

Hooda said the future of the students was at stake and if the government did not take immediate steps to ensure smooth functioning of the prestigious institution, it would bring a bad name to the state. The closure of the medical college would further hamper the growth of medical education, he observed.

He blamed the government for withdrawing the grants in order to prepare a ground for its closure and then by not taking up the case forcefully with the Medical Council of India for the recognition of the institute. The government should have taken effective steps to meet the requirements of staff, space and equipment for the development of the institute as reported by the MCI team, that visited the institute for inquiry, he added.

Hooda appealed to the Aggarwal community of the country to come forward and make liberal donations for saving the college, that was established in the name of Maharaja Aggarsen. Keeping in view the health care requirements of the state, Haryana required atleast three medical colleges in Hisar, Kurukshetra and southern Haryana in addition to the one in Rohtak, he pointed out.

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Om Parkash Chautala criticised the government for the closure of the medical college, accusing Chief Minister Bansi Lal of being a "dictator". It was a part of the conspiracy hatched by HVP, BJP and Congress, he alleged. While the Congress party stopped 90 per cent of the grant, the remaining 10 per cent was withdrawn by the HVP-BJP government, he added.

However, Haryana Irrigation Minister Harsh Kumar said the decision to stop government financial aid to the Agroha Medical College was taken by the erstwhile Bhajan Lal government and not by the present government. The Haryana Government has so far spent Rs 10.35 crore on Agroha Medical College, he asserted.