3000 junior doctors in Madhya Pradesh resign after HC terms strike illegal

Bhopal: Nearly 3,000 junior doctors in Madhya Pradesh have resigned from their posts after state High Court directed them to end their ongoing strike and resume their duties within 24 hours.

The agitating medicos remain defiant and have announced that they will challenge the ruling. The HC had termed the four-day-old strike as "illegal".

Nearly 3,000 junior doctors working in the six government medical colleges of the state have submitted their resignations to the dean of their respective colleges, Madhya Pradesh Junior Doctors Association (MPJDA) president Dr Arvind Meena was quoted as saying by PTI.

The strike, which began on Monday, will continue till their demands are fulfilled, he said. The junior doctors have put forward multiple demands before the state government, including a hike in stipend and free treatment for them and their families if they contract the deadly coronavirus infection.

Meena said the state government has already cancelled their enrollment for the third year PG and therefore they won't be able to sit for examinations.

He further informed the MPJDA will appeal against the HC judgement in the Supreme Court. Meena claimed members of the Medical Officers Association and the Federation of Resident Doctors Association will also join their agitation.

He said junior and senior doctors of Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Maharashtra and AIIMS Rishikesh, among others, have supported their strike.

Meena claimed on May 6, the government authorities promised to fulfil their demands but nothing happened after that, forcing them to stop work. Asked about the governments decision to raise their stipend by 17 per cent and whether they will resume duties after relevant orders are issued, Meena said remained non-committal.

The government has promised to raise the stipend by 24 per cent and till they raise it to that limit, the strike will continue," he said.

Earlier in the day, the high court at Jabalpur termed the state-wide strike called by the JDA as illegal and directed the protesting junior doctors to return to work by 2.30 PM on Friday.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq Ahmed and Justice Sujoy Paul said in case the striking doctors do not resume duties within the set timeframe, the state government must take stern action against them.

The bench condemned the JDA's decision to go on a strike at the time of a pandemic and said such a step can’t be encouraged during a health crisis. The HC was hearing a petition against the strike filed by Jabalpur-based advocate Shailendra Singh.