Call for nation-wide medical bandh on May 25

New Delhi, May 24: A day after the Government decided to implement 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, striking doctors and students today intensified the agitation and appealed to the masses to support the stir by joining tomorrow's ''civil disobedience'' protest.

As the strike entered its eleventh day today, the medicos today staged peaceful sit-in demonstrations outside hospitals where walk-in interviews were being held to recruit retired and junior doctors to normalise medical services crippled due to the agitation.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a nation- wide 'medical bandh' tomorrow to oppose the Government's decision.

The students and doctors have pledged to continue with the strike and make it more aggressive and intense.

''We will go on come what may...The Government has stabbed us in the back but that will not weaken us. We appeal to people from all walks of life to support us and join the civil disobedience hours tomorrow,'' Dr Harsh Kumar, leader of Youth for Equality, which is spearheading the agitation, said.

The striking medicos have appealed to people from all walks of life to boycott work from 0900 hrs to 1200 hrs as mark of ''civil obedience''.

''This call is only for Delhi and we will prove it to the Government that we mean business,'' he added.

He said Banking Associations, traders, RAW and Truckers Associations had pledged support for tomorrow's campaign.

IMA General Secretary Vinay Aggarwal said the state branches of the Association had been authorised to chart out the own strategies and tomorrow's bandh call was a unanimous decision.

''We condemn the government's attitude.... they have not heeded any demand raised by the striking doctors and students,'' he added.

The issue could have been resolved amicably but the government lost the opportunity, Dr Aggarwal said.

Besides, Punjab, Gujarat, Orissa, Haryana and Delhi several other states have confirmed participation in the medical bandh.

On May 15, the IMA had called a medical bandh which completely paralysed the medical services in all hospitals, including private institutions.

The Striking doctors and medical students appealed to the interview candidates not to become a ''tool'' in the hands of the government to weaken the agitation and help it restore the severely-hit hospital services. Waving placards with messages -- 'Don't Stab us in the Back' and 'Join Your Agitating Brethren'-- the agitating doctors and students had gathered at Safdarjung Hospital and Delhi government's Deen Dayal Upadhayaya, Gobind Ballab Pant, Guru Teg Bahadur and Lok Nayak hospitals.

At Safdarjung Hospital, senior consultants refused hold the interviews, saying the faculty was opposed to such ''provocative steps by the government''.

The agitating doctors and students said they will dash all such ''tactics'' of the government to tide over the crisis arising out of the eleven day long-strike by them.

They claimed that most of the candidates had been convinced not to appear for the interviews.

''We are appealing to the candidates not to appear for the interviews and join us.... We all are from the same fraternity and we should be united in this hour of crisis,'' said Dr Manisha Aggarwal at GTB hospital.

Dr Anirudh Lochan, leader of 'Youth for Equality', said after yesterday's decision, the government will not be allowed to weaken the agitation by such pressure tactics.

''The government stabbed us in the back.... It is going ahead with its plan to implement 27 per cent OBC reservation without considering our demands. We will make out agitation more intense now,'' he said.

''The government had assured us during negotiation that there will be an increase in the number of seats and institutions to implement the OBC reservation in a phased manner but even that had not been considered in its decision,'' he said.

He said the government had an opportunity to resolve the contentious issue in an amicable way but now it has lost that opportunity and it will be responsible for the consequences.

The UPA Left coordination meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, last night decided to implement in letter and spirit the 93rd Constitutional Amendment enabling 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutions.

A specific bill will be brought in the Monsoon session of Parliament in this regard.

The striking doctors and students have been demanding complete roll-back of the proposal for 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in higher education institutions, besides setting up of a non-political judicial committee to review the existing reservation policy.

The doctors and medical students of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Safdarjang, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Maulana Azad and the Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narain hospitals are on strike.

Resident and Junior doctors of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Ram Manohar Lohia, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Ihbas hospitals had also joined the stir.

UNI