Amaravati, Aug 24 (IANS) Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday demanded that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu resolve the legitimate demands of striking junior doctors.
He urged the Chief Minister to immediately invite representatives of the junior doctors for talks, increase their stipends to an appropriate level, bring the strike to an end and ensure that poor patients do not face any inconvenience in government hospitals.
YS Jagan took to X to slam the Chief Minister over the continuing strike by junior doctors.
“Will you force junior doctors, who save lives, onto the streets and put the lives of poor patients at risk?” asked the YSRCP chief.
Nearly 9,000 interns, postgraduate doctors, super-speciality doctors and senior residents from 19 government medical colleges across the State have been protesting for the past two weeks. Why have you not responded to them? Why have you withheld the stipend revision that, as per the rules, should have come into effect from January 1? GO No. 287 provides for a 15 per cent increase in the stipend of junior doctors every two years, he wrote.
The former Chief Minister stated that the YSRCP government went beyond this and increased the stipend by 42.4 per cent.
“We also recognised those pursuing super-speciality courses as Senior Residents and, considering their request, increased their stipend beyond the prescribed level, resulting in an overall increase of 77 per cent. We also increased the stipends of AYUSH junior doctors on par with those of allopathic junior doctors. When junior doctors are seeking an increase of more than 15 per cent, considering rising prices, inflation and the increased cost of living, is it not unfair that you say you will increase their stipends by only 3 to 5 per cent? Government teaching hospitals depend heavily on the hard work of junior doctors to provide medical services. Now, due to the strike, even emergency services such as casualty, ICUs and labour rooms are being affected, causing serious hardship to poor patients.”
YS Jagan alleged that the government’s stubborn attitude is responsible for this situation. “Aarogyasri network hospitals are already struggling because of the dues accumulated under your government. On the other hand, you have severely weakened the government healthcare system.”
The YSRCP chief also wrote that in an unprecedented initiative in the country’s history, the YSRCP government took up 17 new government medical colleges at one time. “We completed five of them and started classes. We also made another medical college ready for classes, bringing a total of six colleges into operation. Instead of completing the remaining colleges, you are trying to sell them off. As if this were not enough, you have stopped the remaining Nadu-Nedu works in government teaching hospitals and other hospitals. Government hospitals are struggling due to the lack of medicines meeting WHO/GMP standards.”
He alleged that the Chief Minister abandoned the zero-vacancy policy. “You are gradually reducing the nearly 50,000 healthcare personnel appointed during our government. You have weakened the Family Doctor programme. You have removed specialist doctors from Community Health Centres. You have rendered Village and Urban Clinics ineffective. You have severely weakened Aarogyasri and accumulated dues of more than Rs 3,000 crore. The damage you have caused to the public healthcare system is immense. Now, by dealing with junior doctors with the same arrogance, you are pushing even the remaining medical services beyond the reach of poor people. Chandrababu garu, at least now, give up this arrogance,” YS Jagan added.
–IANS
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