As Govt threatens sack, first cracks appear in ranks of city’s striking doctors

Soon after the Supreme Court’s warning to the doctors today, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “We will be taking a lot of steps from tomorrow, including new recruitment, to maintain services. We are going to ask Army and Railway doctors to work,” he told reporters.

According to Ramadoss, the Prime Minister directed that “(health) services have to be maintained come what may”. He ruled out invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to deal with the situation.

“Doctors have the right to air their views but not during duty hours. Two weeks is too long a period and a lot of poor patients from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and North East are suffering,” he said.

The Health Ministry has begun serving notices to striking doctors. “Only after the services of the absentee doctors are terminated, will the Government be able to get doctors from outside,” sources said.

Meanwhile, the striking medicos held a general body meeting where a group called for an end to the strike. This section, mostly medicos from Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) and a few from AIIMS, were arguing against the continuation of the strike.

“The ball is now in the Supreme Court as it has asked the Government to file a report on the quota policy. There is no meaning for the agitation anymore,” said a final-year student of the LHMC.

An MAMC student said: “I have been with the strike from day one. Now when the Government has formed a panel, and the court has also taken cognizance, then what is the point of going ahead with the strike?”

Another LHMC student told leaders of Youth for Equality: “Let’s get out of emotions, take a realistic view. I have supported the agitation for the last two weeks, but now I feel that it has become directionless.”’

She later told The Indian Express: “First, we were demanding complete withdrawal of the reservation policy. As a back-up plan, we thought that if the Government doesn’t agree to it, we will ask for increase in seats. Now, when the Government has agreed to meet the demand and set up a panel, what is the point of continuing with the agitation?”

Elsewhere, representatives of striking medicos were consulting legal experts till late in the evening today. “There is no mention of names of the doctors in the Supreme Court order. After consulting our lawyer, we have decided not to call off the strike. We have support from people from all over and we will not let the movement die so fast. We are all set to intensify it,” said Anirudh Lochan, spokesperson, Youth For Equality.

Services in government hospitals and most private hospitals will be affected tomorrow with doctors joining the Delhi Medical Association’s call for a bandh.