The Hindu : National : Doctors float parallel organisation to IMA

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 24, 2006

National

National

Doctors float parallel organisation to IMA

Staff Reporter

A maha rally will be organised in the capital on June 4 by medicos supporting reservation

NEW DELHI: Alleging that only a handful of doctors from the Indian Medical Association were lending support to the anti-reservation movement across the country, a group of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes doctors from the Association have floated a new organisation that supports the United Progressive Alliance Government's proposal to reserve 27 per cent seats for members of their communities in institutes of higher learning.

"IMA cannot go against the law of the land. It can definitely form a front that opposes reservation but the whole association cannot side with the anti-reservationists. Ironically, IMA is showing its discriminatory attitude by supporting the anti-reservation stir in Mumbai, while remaining tight-lipped on the roughing up of peaceful pro-reservation doctors in Patna. To counter the oppressive attitude of such people in IMA, doctors belonging to the SCs/STs and OBCs have established a non-political group, Indian National Medical Association, over the weekend," said INMA president S.P. Singh at a press conference here on Tuesday.

Confirming that cracks have appeared in the IMA, Dr. Singh accused some doctors belonging to forward castes of "calling the shots" in the medical body and alleged that these doctors had the backing of a political body in flaring up the anti-reservation stir.

"Reservation is needed to give social justice to backward groups. The anti-reservationists should go to villages to see the real picture. Though the issue of merit is being bandied about, nobody has questioned the merit of those who get admissions in medical colleges by paying exorbitant capitation fee," said Dr. Singh.

Announcing that a Maha Rally will be organised in the capital on June 4, Mr. Singh said that doctors working in various hospitals of the city including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Maulana Azad Medical College and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital would be participating in it.

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