Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will on Wednesday meet with MBBS students protesting against the state government's bond policy, an agitating medico said. The development comes days after a meeting between the agitating students and officials from the Haryana government remained inconclusive.
The meeting with the chief minister will be held at 1.30 pm in Chandigarh on Wednesday, said Anuj Dhania, an MBBS student protesting against the policy. He said a circular regarding the proposed meeting had already been issued by the director of Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak.
MBBS students at PGIMS-Rohtak and some other medical colleges in Haryana have been holding protests for the past three weeks against the policy. Resident doctors of PGIMS-Rohtak have also extended support to the agitating students.
Outpatient department services at private hospitals in the state were suspended on Monday as doctors affiliated to the Indian Medical Association boycotted work in support of the protesting students.
On Sunday, a meeting between representatives of the agitating MBBS students, resident doctors and Haryana government officials was inconclusive. The demands of the MBBS students include a reduction in the duration of compulsory government service from seven years to one year and the bond default amount to not exceed Rs 5 lakh.
According to the bond policy, MBBS students in government institutions will have to execute a tripartite agreement (with the bank and the government) of Rs 40 lakh, including fee, at the time of admission. The policy aims to ensure that medical students serve in government facilities for seven years.
If a student opts not to serve in a state health institution after the completion of their course, then they would have to pay the entire amount. A moratorium shall be extended for students wishing to pursue post graduation.
On Saturday, Khattar the students' doubts regarding the policy were being cleared and that the issue was likely to be resolved shortly. The bond policy does not mean to harass the family of any doctor or poor family, he said.
He had also said the policy had been implemented to encourage MBBS students to choose government service after completing their education in government-run medical colleges.
The Haryana government has come under fire from the Opposition over the issue. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had earlier blamed the alleged insensitive attitude of the government for the ongoing agitation. Hooda had said students of medical colleges in the state had been agitating for a month but the government remained "indifferent and callous".
(With PTI Inputs)
