Over 3,000 resident doctors resigned in Madhya Pradesh on Friday demanding a written assurance of "what they were promised by the government."
Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Vishvas Kailash Sarang said, "They (resident doctors) don't want to speak with us. High Court has termed this protest unconstitutional. They should follow Court's order and resume working immediately. I think they will follow the High Court's order."
Elaborating on the protest, Dr Saurabh Tiwari from Gandhi Medical College and Hamidia Hospital, Bhopal, said, "Over 3,000 resident doctors have resigned in the state. We're demanding what we were promised by the government. The senior resident doctors have also stopped working from today. We want a written assurance from the government."
The junior doctors of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College in Jabalpur have also stopped working, due to which medical health services of the city were affected.
Speaking to ANI, Divisional Commissioner of Jabalpur, B Chandrashekhar said that the juniors doctors are not employees of the government, and thus there is no such thing as resignation.
The resident doctors, protesting since May 31, had put forward five demands, namely an increase in the stipend by six per cent per year, and separate arrangements at hospitals to treat doctors and their families. They also demanded that for the resident doctors on Covid duty, an additional 10 per cent marks must be given during government appointments.
They further added that those on Covid duty must be exempted from the compulsory one-year bond of rural service.
On Thursday the High Court of Madhya Pradesh had declared the state-wide strike of junior resident doctors as illegal and had ordered them to resume duty within 24-hours.
( With inputs from ANI )
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