Journalism of Courage
Homoeopaths warn of hunger strike if Maharashtra Medical Council registration not initiated
At a press conference held in Pune, Dr Chandan Lokhande, coordinator of the Homeopathy Federation said that there were at least 10,000 practitioners who held the Bachelors of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) degree and completed CCMP.
MARD, ASMI and all State Specialist Associations will join the protest from 12:00 AM midnight.
(Representational image generated by AI)
Homoeopaths who have completed the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) on Tuesday threatened to go on a hunger strike in the next eight days, if their registrations with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) are not initiated. At a press conference held in Pune, Dr Chandan Lokhande, coordinator of the Homeopathy Federation said that there were at least 10,000 practitioners who held the Bachelors of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) degree and completed CCMP. “As per the government rule these practitioners are required to be registered with the MMC,” Lokhande said.
He said a hunger strike will be launched at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan within the next eight days. Lokhande and others claimed the MMC deliberately delayed the registration process. Dr Sunil Jagtap (president, Doctors’ Cell, Nationalist Congress Party), Dr Rahul Kalbhor (coordinator, Homeopathic Federation), Dr Balkrishna Gaikwad (State President, CCMP Registered Homeopathic Doctors Association), Sandeep Butala (Head, Doctors’ Cell, Bharatiya Janata Party), and Dr Ajay Tayde (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) were present at the conference and said nearly 90 per cent of doctors providing healthcare services in tribal and remote regions, villages, and urban underprivileged areas are BHMS graduates. “Their services significantly reduce the burden on the public healthcare system. They also pointed out that the BHMS curriculum is largely comparable to the MBBS syllabus,” Dr Lokhande said.
Taking these factors into consideration, the Government of Maharashtra constituted a committee in 2014 comprising legal experts, medical professionals, and healthcare administrators. After extensive study and deliberations, the committee designed a one-year CCMP. Following approval from both Houses of the State Legislature, the course was incorporated into the legal framework. It was also resolved that BHMS doctors completing CCMP would be registered with the MMC. A Government Resolution (GR) was subsequently issued, formally approving the decision. On their part the Indian Medical Association (IMA), had filed a petition before the Bombay High Court challenging the course. The matter is slated for hearing in mid-August this year.
“Even today, thousands of students continue to enroll, pay fees and appear for examinations. However, due to the continued non-registration by the MMC, their professional future remains uncertain,” Lokhande said. The speakers also alleged the IMA had ignored directions of the judiciary and attempted to pressure the government by threatening strikes. The speakers further alleged that a significant number of individuals associated with the IMA hold positions within the Maharashtra Medical Council, and that this is the reason why the registration of BHMS-CCMP doctors has been deliberately withheld.
The doctors demanded that the government take legal action against those who fail to comply with judicial orders and immediately begin the registration of doctors who have completed six and a half years of medical education, comprising four and a half years of the BHMS course, one year of internship, and one year of the CCMP course.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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