‘National Medical Council Bill will get lapsed’

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

RAMANATHAPURAM, DECEMBER 26, 2018 00:00 IST

Ravi Wankhedkar, national president, Indian Medical Association, speaking at a meeting in Ramanathapuram on Tuesday.L. BalachandarL_Balachandar

It will not be tabled in Parliament during this session: IMA president

Ravi Wankhedkar, national president of Indian Medical Association (IMA), has asserted that the ‘controversial’ National Medical Council (NMC) bill, introduced in Parliament at the beginning of the ongoing winter session, will lapse as it would not be tabled for discussion.

Addressing on ‘Current problems faced by doctors,’ the Bill and Clinical Establishment Act (CEA)’ at the district branch of IMA here on Tuesday, he said the Centre had introduced the Bill, seeking to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI), underestimating the strength of doctor fraternity and after doctors, across the country, demonstrated their strength and unity, the government took a reverse.

It’s three weeks since the Bill was introduced in the ongoing final winter session of Parliament and it had not been tabled for discussion so far. As the Bill would never be tabled in the coming week also, it would automatically lapse, he said amid cheers by medical practitioners.

Pointing that the Bill was not tabled for discussion in the last five Parliamentary sessions, he said “In the current political scenario, I do not think the government will dare to table it for discussion.”

When the term of the Lok Sabha gets over, the Bill would also get lapsed and that would be the greatest victory of doctor fraternity, he said. Dr. Wankhedkar said the government tried to underestimate the strength of the doctors but changed its mind after the nation-wide January 2 strike. Claiming that the strike shook the government, he said if the doctor fraternity remained united, no government could impose rules on them.

Doctors in Maharashtra, Uttarkhand and Haryana had successfully prevented the implementation of CEA, thanks to their unity, he said.

Stating that the medical fraternity was attacked from all sides – the media, law-makers and opinion-makers, he said the healthcare industry was facing a dangerous situation and doctors were not sure that a person who stepped into a clinic or hospital would slap or sue them.

The bureaucrats should not try to implement rules sitting in air-conditioned rooms. On the other hand, they should sea the ground situation and ensure doctors best served the patients. Arvindraj, district IMA president, Kalilur Rahman, honorary secretary, Anand Chokalingam, finance secretary, Joseph Rajan, nursing home secretary, and Chinnadurai Abdullah, State council member, were among others attended the meeting.