TRINAMOOL CONGRESS MLA and actor Kanchan Mullick has triggered a controversy over the ‘submission’ of a hospital bill of Rs 6 lakh for reimbursement to the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday, following the birth of his child at a private hospital in Kolkata.  Mullick, the TMC MLA for Uttarpara, married Srimayee Chatterjee in February this year and the couple welcomed a baby girl, on November 3, at a South Kolkata hospital that charged them Rs 6 lakh.

According to Assembly sources, the MLA submitted the bill to the House’s health affairs department with “all relevant information and documents” on Tuesday.

Pointing out that all documents related to the health-related bills would be checked, Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee said, “I personally check all the health bills before giving clearance. In this case too, I will go through all the documents myself. If any questions arise, I will call the hospital concerned and talk to the authorities.” There is no upper limit to the amount for which MLAs can submit hospital bills and claim reimbursement, said Assembly sources.

Asked about his bill, Mullick said on Tuesday, “From where you came to know about the bill, learn about the rest of the matter from there.”  However, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said Mullick has not submitted the medical bill yet.

“He went to the Assembly just to enquire about the bill where the hospital charged Rs 2 lakh for the procedure and Rs 4 lakh as doctor’s fee. It’s very unfortunate that everybody is saying he submitted a medical bill of Rs 6 lakh,” he said.

In the past, ministers have faced scrutiny over their health-related bills.  During the Left Front era, when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was CM, then minister Manav Mukhopadhyay faced a backlash for claiming Rs 30,000 for spectacles.  After the TMC government came to power in 2011, the then women, child and social welfare development minister Savitri Mitra submitted a bill of Rs 1 lakh for spectacles. She returned the funds after a controversy snowballed over the bill.