Indian Medical Association (IMA) national president Dr Asokan on Saturday (August 17) said that they will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention into the rape and murder case of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata stating that time is ripe for him to take note of the incident. He said that the Prime Minister raising the issue of women’s safety in his Independence Day speech shows that he is concerned, and added that IMA will write to him in this regard.
IMA president to write to PM Modi
"Yes, we'll write to the PM. We will be writing to the PM. The time is ripe for his intervention... Certainly, that (PM Modi mentioning women's safety in his August 15 speech) is one aspect that shows that he is concerned. It will be very appropriate to write to the prime minister. IMA will be doing that," Asokan said.
He highlighted that the doctors are only asking for their fundamental right of “right to life”.
"We did meet the Health Minister. Now it's for the government to respond. They will have the political will to respond now. Because what we have asked for is not something beyond them. We are asking for a very fundamental right, the right to life," he added.
He underlined that doctors all across the country are protesting against the rape-murder of the trainee doctor in Kolkata.
"The response is overwhelming from every corner of the country. Doctors stand united against this injustice. The protest is there, but is also taking care of the emergency services and the casualties. The medical profession has stood united across the country. Across all the sectors whether it's private, government, or corporate doctors are in protest. We are paying international attention to this issue because this involves the issue of the safety of women," he said.
He said that the doctors are expecting a “gesture from the government” while also noting that their protest has taken the shape of a “movement for safety”.
"We are expecting a gesture from the government because this is a very basic question of safety, especially the safety of women. Not only of our doctors but of the entire working women class. Public opinion in the country and the momentum that it has created, it has become a movement for safety," IMA President added.
Doctors’ protest across the country
Following the announcement of a nationwide strike over the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder incident by the IMA, doctors at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi staged a protest march inside the campus on Saturday. The doctors were seen holding posters and raising slogans of "We want justice".
IMA Secretary General Dr Anil Kumar J Nayak said they are hopeful that the government will bring the law they are demanding.
"Our junior and resident doctors carried out a maha rally yesterday. 4000-5000 doctors joined it... Everyone is agitated and they are demanding safety. They are demanding CPA, Central Protection Act... We met Union Minister JP Nadda and we will keep meeting other authorities. They are positive but there is nothing concrete from them yet... We are hopeful that they will bring the law that we are demanding," he said.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has declared a 24-hour withdrawal of services by all the modern medicine doctors of the country irrespective of the sector and place of work in response to nationwide outrage over the rape and murder of a second-year trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College. While emergencies and casualties will function, the IMA said that no OPDs or elective surgeries. will be performed from 6 am on Saturday till 6 am on Sunday, August 18, 2024.
On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered on duty at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, which led to nationwide strikes and protests by the medical fraternity.
(With ANI inputs)
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