The Leader of the Opposition accused the Minister of Health of making a “mockery” of the Private Notice Question. Therefore, he withdrew his question after 14 minutes. The PNQ was addressed to the Minister of Health, Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal. It concerned the increase in the price of drugs sold in pharmacies. Xavier-Luc Duval wanted to know what measures the Ministry is taking to ensure that prices remain affordable, especially considering the comments made by the Director of the Audit in his latest report and the Competition Commission’s study on drug prices.
In his response, the Minister of Health spoke about the quality of medicines, the conditions that pharmacies must meet and his intention to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act. He started talking about the purchase of medicines during the 2020 total lockdown.
Xavier-Luc Duval drew the Speaker’s attention to the fact that the Minister was not answering the question asked. Sooroojdev Phokeer replied that he “had no control” over a minister’s answers and authorize the health minister to continue.
The leader of the Opposition then spoke about the “mockery” made and decided to withdraw his question. He will hold a press conference at 2 pm.
