Medical students pledge to intensify agitation

New Delhi, May 24 : Severely dissapointed with the government's decision to implement the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in higher education, striking doctors and medical students said they will make their agitation ''more aggressive and intense'' and spread it to every part of the country.

''The government has taken no note of our demands and now our agitation will get more agressive and intense. It will spread to every corner of the country,'' Dr Anirudh Lochan, a spokesman for 'Youth for Equality', which is spearheading the agitation, told UNI late last night.

He said the issues and the demands raised by the doctor and students were not heeded.

''The government had assured us during negotiation that there will 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 the government's 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.

''So far our agitation was a smouldering matchstick but now the entire country will burn and the government will be responsible for the consequences,'' the spokesman said.

Dr Lochan said the the students and doctors were disappointed with the Prime Minister who had just yesterday assured them that while implementing the policy, interest of all communities will be taken into consideration.'' The striking doctors and students have been demanding complete roll-back of the Government's proposal of 27 per cent reservation for OBC in higher educational 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 Upadhyay, Ram Manohar Lohia, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Ihbas hospitals had also joined the stir.

UNI