3000 Madhya Pradesh Doctors Resign After HC Terms Strike 'Illegal', Demands Include Free Covid Treatment

Nearly 3,000 junior doctors working in the six government medical colleges of Madhya Pradesh resigned en masse from their posts on Thursday.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College junior doctors shout slogans during a torchlight protest demanding a hike in their salaries, in Jabalpur, (PTI)

Bhopal: While doctors and medical workers are hailed across the country for their relentless work as India battles the Covid 19 pandemic, doctors of Madhya Pardesh are not happy with the way they are being treated and are on strike for the past four days. The junior doctors have put forth their demands before the state government, including a hike in stipend and free treatment for them and their families if they contract the deadly coronavirus infection.

However, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday directed the striking junior doctors in the state to resume their duties within 24 hours but the protesting medicos remained defiant and nearly 3,000 of them resigned from their posts and announced they will challenge the ruling.

The court termed the four-day-old strike as "illegal".

Nearly 3,000 junior doctors working in the six government medical colleges of the state resigned en masse from their posts on Thursday and submitted their resignations to the dean of their respective colleges, Madhya Pradesh Junior Doctors Association (MPJDA) president Dr Arvind Meena said, according to a report by PTI.

The strike, which began on Monday, will continue till their demands are fulfilled, he said.

Meena said the state government has already cancelled their enrollment for the third year PG and therefore they won't be able to sit for examinations.

He said the MPJDA will appeal against the high court judgement in the Supreme Court.

 Meena claimed members of the Medical Officers Association and the Federation of Resident Doctors Association will also join their agitation.

He said junior and senior doctors of Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Maharashtra and AIIMS Rishikesh, among others, have supported their strike.

Meena claimed on May 6, the government authorities promised to fulfil their demands but nothing happened after that, forcing them to stop work.

Asked about the governments decision to raise their stipend by 17 per cent and whether they will resume duties after relevant orders are issued, M Meena said remained non-committal.

"The government has promised to raise the stipend by 24 per cent and till they raise it to that limit, the strike will continue," he said.

Earlier in the day, the high court at Jabalpur termed the statewide strike called by the JDA as illegal and directed the protesting junior doctors to return to work by 2:30 PM on Friday.

(With PTI inputs)