Mumbai: Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Rais Sheikh has claimed that doctors at civic-run hospitals asked Muslim patients to shave off beard before they perform surgery on them and sought a ban on this practice.
Sheikh, the SP’s group leader in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has written a letter to civic commissioner Ajoy Mehta, claiming doctors at BMC run hospitals ask Muslim patients to shave off their beard before performing even minor surgery.
The SP corporator said, “Keeping a beard is long-cherished part of our faith and I have received several complaints from our Muslim brother patients who say doctors advise them to shave off beard before performing even minor surgery.”
He said, “I have demanded that Mehta instruct doctors to ask patients to shave off beard only when it is extremely necessary.”
The leader said, the BMC’s health department has taken notice of his complaint and framed a policy to prevent doctors from resorting to the practice.
However, this could not be immediately corroborated with civic officials.
Sheikh was among the corporators who had in the past raised an objection to make ”Surya Namaskar” (Sun salutation) compulsory in BMC schools.