Doctors protesting against the delay in college allotments after the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test, or NEET, postgraduate exam called off their strike on Friday after two weeks.
The decision was taken after a meeting with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and the Delhi Police, the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association said in a statement.
“The strike has been called off,” said Dr Manish Kumar, president, Federation of Resident Doctors Association, according to The Indian Express. “We had a meeting with the joint commissioner of police last night where he gave instructions to cancel the FIR. As for the NEET-PG, we have been assured that the court clearance will come during the January 6 hearing.”
However, the Federation of All India Medical Association said that there was a “split opinion” on its decision to withhold the strike till January 6. This was after the body held a meeting with state resident doctors’ associations.
“We urge you to wait for our official statement,” the association said.
Resident doctors, led by the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association, started their protests pointing out that the delay in new admissions to medical colleges has increased the workload in hospitals. Over the last week, they intensified their protests saying that a further delay in admissions could lead to an acute situation amid a rise in coronavirus cases.
On Monday, the Delhi Police on Monday evening used force against the doctors. More than 2,500 resident doctors were reportedly detained at Sarojini Nagar police station while they were heading towards Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s home. Many of them were dragged and beaten on the roads.
The health minister at a meeting on Tuesday expressed regret for “any misbehaviour on the part of the police” during the protests on Monday. He also said that the counselling was delayed as the matter was pending in the Supreme Court. But Mandaviya urged the protestors to resume work due to the ongoing Covid-19 health crisis.
The representatives of the doctors’ association will now meet on January 6, following the Supreme Court hearing on the matter.
The protests started in November after the Supreme Court on October 25 said that NEET counselling will not start till it examined the validity of the government’s decision to introduce reservations for the Other Backward Classes and the Economically Weaker Sections in the all-India quota for medical courses.
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