Medicos rejoice as CM flays linking rural service with course

Chennai, Sep 7 (UNI) The agitating medicos in Tamil Nadu today received a shot in their arm with Chief Minister M Karunanidhi opposing linking of one-year compulsory rural service with five-and a-half years of MBBS course.

Answering to a question on the agitation launched by the medicos and house surgeons against the Centre's move to extend the five-and-a-half year MBBS course with one-year rural service, Mr Karunanidhi said this was not acceptable.

He said there could be no two views that the medicos should evince interest in serving rural areas, but extending their course by one-year to achieve the purpose would be unacceptable.

He desired that the Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss should accept the views expressed by the leaders of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and CPI and act accordingly.

The Left party leaders had strongly opposed the linking of the MBBS course with compulsory rural service. Instead, the Centre should come forward to fill up the vacancies in hospitals located in the rural areas, they said.

UNI