AIIMS Delhi Resident Doctors Association (RDA) on Tuesday announced that it has decided to take back the decision of holding a strike tomorrow over the doctors’ demand for government action on NEET-PG 2021 counselling not yet fulfilled. In an official release, AIIMS Delhi RDA stated, “In a meeting with the Union Health Minister has met with the resident doctors and assured that the NEET PG 2021 counselling to be held at the earliest.” It read, “Assuring the NEET PG 2021 counselling to be held at the earliest. AIIMS Delhi RDA has decided to take back the decision of strike on December 29. All services to be continued as normal.”
Earlier in the day, the Union Health Ministry held an emergency meeting with a 12-member delegation of Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) representatives. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a meeting with the delegation of protesting resident doctors and urged them to call off their strike over delay in NEET PG counselling in the “larger interest of the public”. Following the detailed meeting with a delegation of FORDA, he said all requisite steps are being taken by the government and a suitable reply with respect to the EWS report will be submitted to Supreme Court before the scheduled date of hearing on 6 January.
“Our resident doctors have been protesting for the last few days over the delay in NEET PG counselling. I held a meeting with a delegation of the protesting doctors at Nirman Bhawan to resolve the issue. We are not able to do the counselling because the matter is sub-judice before the Supreme Court. The government of India will submit a reply to the apex court before the scheduled date of hearing on 6 January. We request the court to expedite the issue so that the counselling can be started at the earliest,” the minister said. Mandaviya also expressed gratitude to the resident doctors and health care workers over the exemplary work done by them during the Covid crisis.
Earlier, Dr Manish, President, FORDA, said, “Our protest will continue till we get justice. Is this a big deal to seek prompt action from the government? So many students are suffering and the workload resident doctors are facing is excruciating.”
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also wrote to PM Modi to listen to the demands of the doctors. In the letter to PM, Kejriwal wrote, “Amid rising concerns of the Omicron variant, the doctors of the central government hospitals are protesting on roads. It is very disheartening to see that they were being mistreated by the police while protesting.” Kejriwal stressed that due to the protest, there is a lack of doctors in the hospitals. As the cases are rising, they should be in hospitals not on the streets. Kejriwal said, “The delay in the counselling is affecting the future of the students. Many doctors lost their lives on the line of duty and it’s our duty to listen to their demands.”
Several resident doctors across the country continue their protest against the delay in NEET-PG counselling and warned to withdraw “all healthcare services” from Wednesday. Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) called for complete withdrawal from all healthcare services across the country from 8 am on 29 December “in protest against brute force by Delhi Police against doctors.”
However, Delhi police additional commissioner, Central range, Suman Goyal, on Tuesday said that no force and lathi-charge was used on the doctors, and added that Delhi Police have the highest regard for doctors.
On 24 December, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the NEET-PG counselling crisis and augment manpower to face a possible third wave of Covid-19 infections. The NEET PG examination was scheduled to be held in January 2021 but postponed in view of the first and second wave of Covid-19 and held on 12 September 2021, said the letter. However, due to the legal impediments of the Supreme Court now the Counselling is withheld resulting in a shortage of 45,000 doctors on the frontline, added the letter.
Intensifying their stir over the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling, a large number of resident doctors on Tuesday protested on the premises of Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital, even as police personnel were deployed to ensure maintenance of law and order. The protest, a day earlier had taken a dramatic turn, as medics and police personnel had faced off in streets, with both sides claiming several persons suffered injury in the ensuing melee. Resident doctors of Swami Dayanand Hospital, Dilshad Garden, also warned to withdraw from all non-emergency (OPD, wards, elective OT) services with immediate effect and Emergency from 29 December. AIIMS’s resident doctors protested over the alleged police action over doctors during a protest march against delay in NEET-PG counselling on Monday. “Today also we are trying to march towards Supreme Court. Yesterday we tried to go but police stopped us and beat up our resident doctors,” said a protester. The resident doctors of Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya Hospital protested over delay in NEET-PG counselling. Doctors under the banner of the Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors (JARD) also hold protests over delay in NEET-PG counselling.