Resident doctors resign en masse in HP

Shimla, Mar 29 (UNI) A day after the Himachal Pradesh government toughened its stand against the striking resident doctors and issued showcause notices, nearly 200 doctors today resigned en masse.

''The showcause notices issued by the government had sent out a clear message that the government did not require our services.

Under these circumstances, we were left with no option but to resign en masse,'' Resident Doctors Association told UNI here.

He said they were not to be blamed for crisis as it was the state government which had issued them showcause notices yesterday and had directed them to resume their duties immediately.

The resident doctors of the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC), who are on a pen down strike from March 22, were issued showcause notices by the state government following their decision to go on mass casual leave yesterday.

Asserting that they were only demanding parity in stipend being given to the resident doctors of the IGMC and doctors in the neighbouring states, Mr Sood said their demand was justifiable.

He said members of the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) met in the morning today and decided to put in their papers after the state government issued them showcause notices.

The talks between the RDA and state principal health secretary had broken down on Saturday after the doctors rejected the government's decision to hike their stipend by 20 per cent and went on mass causal leave, crippling health services in the IGMC.

UNI