The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Maharashtra has written to Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Vankaih Naidu over Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut's comments on the medical profession and the World Health Organisation.
“Sanjay Raut MP from Maharashtra, passed some derogatory and loose comments, recently in an interview, on a Marathi Television News Channel. He said, ‘Doctors do not know anything.’ ‘Compounders are better.’ ‘I always take medicine from a compounder, never from a doctor.’ ‘WHO is a useless organisation, because of WHO the Coronavirus Pandemic came’,” the IMA said in its letter.
The Association demanded him to take back his words and tender an apology to the doctor’s community.
“Such disparaging, disrespectful and dishonouring comments by a respectable leader, a journalist and Rajya Sabha MP have hurt the feelings of the doctors in Maharashtra. These slighting and uncomplimentary remarks have damaged the morale of the doctors who are fighting with the COVID 19 for more than four and half months till today,” it said.
IMA Thane Branch had also written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray condemning Raut’s statement and had asked for his resignation.
Meanwhile, clarifying his stand on the issue, Sena leader Raut on Tuesday said,"Some people are trying to play politics over it, I had spoken about WHO, it doesn't mean that I am insulting our doctors here, I have always respected doctors. I had spoken about the WHO, it's not only me who has raised fingers on WHO but Trump, Russia and many other countries have pointed fingers at WHO in tackling the covid situation. Raut gave the explanation while speaking to a private news channel.