Rajasthan government orders arrest of striking doctors

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government has begun a crackdown on striking doctors. Four doctors have been taken into custody and the government warned that more arrests will follow.

As the state is facing an acute shortage of government doctors, there were reports of causalities in hospitals due to the lack of medical treatment. The Rajasthan Essential Service Maintenance Act (RESMA) has been invoked by the government to deal with the striking doctors. Thousands of government doctors reportedly submitted their resignations and went on an indefinite strike on Monday.

Special teams of Rajasthan police arrested two doctors from Jhalawar today while one was arrested from Tonk. Dr. Jagdish Modi, the Registrar of Rajasthan Medical Council, was also arrested from Jaipur. Apart from these, the police have also been conducting search operations in ten other districts of Rajasthan. Officials associated with the All Rajasthan State In-Service Doctors Association have gone underground after the government adopted stricter measures to deal with them.

Meanwhile, medial and health minister, Kalicharan Saraf, has stated that he is closely monitoring the situation. He said that the government will not bow before the striking doctors’ arrogance. More than ten thousand government doctors are on strike in support of their 33 demands including the formation of a separate cadre and issues related to pay grade. More than 15 people in different districts of Rajasthan have died due to lack of treatment as thousands of others continue facing a medical crisis.

In another development, the Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors (JARD) came out in support of the ones on strike. In a statement, JARD said, “If the government adopts a policy of repression to deal with striking doctors, the resident doctors would be compelled to join forces with them.”