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Medicos defy apex court, strike on

        New Delhi: Rejecting the Supreme Court's directive to end their more than fortnight-long anti-reservation agitation, striking medicos on Tuesday decided to carry on with their protest. Representatives of the strikers, who have gathered under the banner of "Youth for Equality" said that the Apex Court's directive that not ending the strike would be deemed as a contempt of court was not addressed at them. The Manmohan Singh Government has said that Army doctors will be called in from Wednesday to restore services in state-run hospitals.

      Earlier in the day, a two-member vacation bench of the Supreme Court asked the agitating medicos to call off their strike, while assuring them that it will take care of the concerns of all the parties on the issue. It also warned the medicos if they continue with their stir it would amount to contempt.

    Ruling out invoking ESMA against the striking doctors, Health Minister A Ramadoss said Army doctors will be called in from Wednesday to restore services in state-run hospitals in view of the continuing strike by medicos against reservation. After a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ramadoss said that they were going to maintain services in the hospitals come what may. He further added that besides summoning medical professionals from the Army, they would also be appointing new doctors. The Minister said the Prime Minister was concerned about the Supreme Court's comments on the continuation of the strike by the medicos. Ramadoss said Singh had asked to take all possible steps to maintain services in hospitals.

     The court had said that on Monday they made an appeal hoping that good sense will prevail but now ''we are making it in writing.'' The court will hear the matter again on Wednesday. It has directed the Additional Solicitor General to file a memorandum detailing latest developments on the ongoing agitation by the medicos. The government indicated that armed with Tuesday's fresh order it will make fresh efforts to persuade the striking medicos to resume work. The protesting doctors were consulting legal experts and holding a meeting after the Supreme Court expressed displeasure that the medicos did not pay heed to its appeal to end the strike. Dr Neha Gami, a spokesperson of 'Youth for Equality', which is spearheading the medicos' agitation, said "we will be in a position to comment only after we receive a copy of the Court order." With the doctors' strike entering the 18th day, the Supreme Court said "we specifically said yesterday, for larger public interest, the ongoing strike should be called off. On the contrary, opposite is going on."

Call off quota stir, apex court to doctors (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Looking into the plight of patients, the Supreme Court on Tuesday warned striking medicos in the Capital to call off their strike with immediate effect or face contempt of court charges. Taking suo motu note of the issue, a vacation Bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice L S Panta said, "We are not concerned at this stage about the Government policy. We are concerned at this stage about the plight of the people." Expressing displeasure, the apex court observed that the agitating medicos did not pay heed to its Monday's appeal to call off their ongoing strike. "We specifically said on Monday, for larger public interest, the ongoing strike should be called off. On the contrary, opposite is going on," said the court. The court observed that when matter was already in the court, any kind of protest and agitation on the issue was not acceptable and asked the Government to file a memorandum before it on Wednesday giving details and the latest position of the ongoing strike and protest against the quota proposal. However, the doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), who have been raising their voice for nearly three weeks now against the proposed implementation of reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in higher educational institutions, are yet to respond. "We will respect the order of the court but at the same time we would seek opinion of the legal expert," said a striking doctor at AIIIMS. However, any decision regarding calling off the strike is likely to be taken only after the general body meeting of the striking doctors. On Monday, the Supreme Court had asked the Central Government to explain what was the basis of reservation for the OBCs and had also appealed to the striking doctors to call of their strike. The apex court had requisitioned this from the government while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Ashoka Kumar Thakur, a senior counsel at the court.

Quota: Rajkot doctors, medical stores shut

       Rajkot: Private practitioners, clinical laboratories and medical stores downed their shutters in Rajkot on Tuesday, in support of the one-day shutdown called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) against OBCs quota proposal. The shutdown was called in support of medicos from state-funded hospitals agitating against reservations for the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) students in higher educational institutions in the country. Thousands of medical students across the country have been protesting against the government's decision to hike the number of seats for the socially backward classes in country's elite educational institutions.

Bihar to raise seats in medical colleges (Go To Top)

      Patna: With the quota issue facing several protests across the country, the six medical colleges in Bihar will now have more seats as the Nitish Kumar Government today decide in principle to increase seats in all medical colleges of the state and set up new such colleges. Talking to reporters here today, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said: "The State Government has decided in principle to increase seats in six medical colleges of the state and also build new colleges". A medical college will also be built in Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) hospital, he added. Commenting on the fact that many seats in the state's medical colleges remained vacant in the past, Kumar said his government would ensure that those were filled on a regular basis in the future. Kumar said that the proposal to increase the seats and build a medical college has already been approved by his Cabinet. The six state-run colleges include Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) (Patna), Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) (Patna), Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) (Darbhanga), Anugrah Narain Medical College and Hospital (ANMCH) (Gaya), Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (Bhagalpur) and Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) (Muzaffarpur).

Arjun Singh goes on Saudi tour (Go To Top)

      Riyadh: Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who is at the centre of a huge row over providing reservations to backward classes in higher institues of learning, arrived in the Saudi Arabian capital today. Singh, who is on a six-day tour of the Middle East, will call on Saudi King Abdullah and present a letter from Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to him. The highlight of the visit is expected to be the signing of an educational exchange programme between Saudi Arabia and India that will focus on attracting Saudi students to Indian educational institutions. Against 38 Saudi students in India in 2003, the number rose to 104 in 2004. India wants this number to increase further in the coming years, HRD officials said. Singh will meet his Saudi courterpart Dr. Khaled Al-Angari. He will also visit the King Abdul Aziz University Library and is scheduled to address the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Minister will witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi and Jeddah's King Abdul Aziz University. He will participate in a reception hosted by Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Old Boys Association in Riyadh and launch the Saudi-Indian Medical Forum at Jeddah.