Aqzar Raheel
Srinagar, Sept 6(KNZ/TMJ): Srinagar Lok Sabha member Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has sought an explanation from Jammu and Kashmir Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Itoo over alleged pressure being mounted on protesting medical interns and sought clarity on who authorised principals of medical colleges to warn them of consequences.
In a letter addressed to Itoo on September 6, Mehdi said that the interns’ demand had been openly discussed for the past week and that the government had accepted it as genuine. He noted that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also given a date on the issue.
However, Mehdi said he had now been informed that principals of medical colleges had begun warning interns of consequences if they did not return to duty.
“Something has changed in the last few days, and I would like to know from you what it is,” Mehdi wrote.
The Srinagar MP asked Itoo whether the latest instructions had come from the Health and Medical Education Department and, if so, sought to know who had authorised them and on what reasoning.
He further said that if the department had not issued such instructions and principals were instead acting on their own interpretation of the government’s position, that too was a matter the minister should be aware of and correct.
Mehdi said the issue mattered because of the apparent contrast between the government’s public position and the alleged action being taken through institutional authorities.
“A government that has publicly called a demand genuine, and privately set its institutional heads to pressuring the people making it, is speaking in two voices,” he said.
The MP also highlighted the working conditions and professional journey of the protesting interns, saying they had spent nine years training to become doctors and were serving in casualty wards through the night.
“These are young people who have given nine years to becoming doctors and who staff our casualty wards through the night,” he wrote.
Mehdi said the interns were protesting to protect what he described as their constitutional right and should not be made to face consequences for wearing a white coat while raising their concerns.
He also urged the Health Minister to ensure that any warnings being conveyed to the interns inside medical colleges were stopped.
According to Mehdi, the basic issue could be resolved through a formal government order clearly specifying the amount involved, the date from which it would take effect and an assurance that no intern would be penalised for having participated in the protest.
“The rest of this is simple. You have agreed. The Chief Minister has agreed. A committee agreed in 2023,” Mehdi wrote.
He said that despite assurances being given to the young doctors, no formal order had so far been produced, leaving the interns continuing their protest.
Mehdi concluded his letter by seeking a response from Itoo on the question of who had directed the principals to warn the interns and why the approach towards the protesters had apparently changed in recent days.(KNZ/TMJ)
