Resident doctors withdraw strike after promise on NEET-PG counselling

The fortnight-long nationwide strike by resident doctors seeking early NEET-PG counselling was called off on Friday (December 31) after assurance from Delhi police that the FIR against the striking doctors will be withdrawn. The Centre also promised the protesters that the court approval to counselling, which was at the heart of the debate, will come by January 6.

Dr Manish Kumar, president, Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) said, “The striking doctors have called back their protest after a meeting with the joint commissioner of police. As far as the NEET-PG counselling is concerned, we have been assured that the court clearance will come during the January 6 hearing.”

Also read: Explained: Why junior doctors are protesting so hard

On Tuesday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a meeting with the protesters and promised that the FIR will be withdrawn. About expediting NEET-PG counselling, Mandaviya said the government would submit its report before the January 6 hearing and make all efforts to begin the counselling process at the earliest. The doctors had then refused to budge.

The doctors’ took the agitation mode when the Union government sought four weeks in the Supreme Court to settle the matter concerning quota for the Economically Weaker Sections. The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) and the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) started the agitation in November by first withdrawing from outpatient department (OPD) services. As the protest spread, doctors started boycotting emergency work as well. The government then intervened and the strike was halted for a week. It resumed on December 17 as FORDA members withdrew from all services.

A delay in NEET-PG counselling has badly affected medical college hospitals, who were short of hands because the outgoing batch of third-year PG students left but the new batch did not join. This resulted in extreme workload on resident doctors who ended up working 100 to 120 hours a week. At the same time, about 50, 000 NEET-PG aspirants across the country are waiting to join the service.