Ahmedabad, July 26: Gujarat government has invoked Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against the resident doctors who are on strike for last four days demanding hike in the stipend.
“We have invoked ESMA against the striking resident doctors,” Principal Secretary of Health Ravi Saxena told PTI.
“Now that they are under ESMA, they can be arrested or detained also,” he said.
However, Gujarat Association of Resident Doctors (GARD), in a statement said the doctors are prepared to face the “action to be initiated by the authorities.”
“We are ready to face any action initiated against us. However, we want the government to resolve the issue by negotiation,” GARD said in the statement.
Earlier, the government had announce to terminate the registration of the doctors from tomorrow morning. “We had several rounds of talks with the representatives of the resident doctors but so far they have been adamant, forcing us terminate them,” Saxena said.
“We have also written to the parents of the doctors, advising them to counsel their children, who have worked hard to reach this level,” he said, adding, unfortunately they are spoiling their own career.
According to the Principal Secretary, the doctors will be terminated from their respective universities, which means they will never be able to get registered again for any post- graduate course anywhere in the country.
“Once the registration is terminated from the university, under no circumstances it will be revoked,” he said.
The doctors are demanding stipend at par with that paid to their counterparts in other states, as stipend in Gujarat is very less, said the representatives of the doctors.
However, the government has said that it is prepared to hike the stipend but no commitment can be given regarding the date from which it will be increased.
“We are prepared to accept the demand seeking hike in the stipend but we cannot commit regarding the date,” Saxena said.
Meanwhile, strike by over 1500 resident doctors across the state has affected health services in the government hospitals.
–Agencies–