AIIMS Doctors' Strike Called Off

Resident doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) today called off their strike against the delay in the award of their degrees for the past three years.

The announcement was made by Anil Sharma, General Secretary of the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA).

Earlier, addressing a press conference, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss had warned the doctors of stringent action if the strike continued.

"If the strike continues, we will have to hire doctors on contract, and we will be forced to suspend the agitating doctors," Ramadoss said.

Doctors, who went on strike on Tuesday evening, said those who have qualified for various medical courses, are facing difficulty in seeking jobs or pursuing higher studies in the absence of their degrees.

The decision to end three-day-old strike, which has crippled medical services at the hospital, came soon after a crackdown by the Delhi High Court, which asked the Central Government to solve the crisis.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna also said that if the Centre fails to take action, then the court would take action.

"If you (Centre) do it today, then it’s ok, but if you fail to resolve the crisis, then we have to take action," the Bench said.

It further said that the Government cannot refuse to give degrees to the doctors.

Meanwhile, doctors said that they will approach the Supreme Court.

RDA General Secretary Anil Sharma said a senior lawyer is preparing a petition seeking a directive from the court to the government to issue the certificates immediately.

"We will plead before the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing in the matter, as time is running out for a number of students who are planning to go abroad for higher studies," Sharma said.

AIIMS Director P. Venugopal on Wednesday said that the hospital convocation will be held on September 25.

Ramadoss has refused to sign the degree certificates, as they were signed by the Registrar of AIIMS, Dr Sandeep Agarwal.

“Dr Agarwal's appointment as Registrar does not have the approval of the (AIIMS) Governing Body. Therefore, these documents are illegal, and I cannot put my signature on illegal documents,” said Ramadoss.

Meanwhile, Ramadoss has cancelled his visit to Bhutan, where he was scheduled to attend a meeting of the WHO.

Source-ANI