IMA Protest Against National Medical Commission Bill
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the largest body of doctors and students in the country has been opposing the NMC Bill that seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI). As per IMA, the NMC bill is anti-students and anti-poor.
Over 5000 doctors, medical students and healthcare professionals from across the country are protesting against the National Medical Commission Bill (NMC) 2019 with a march being held from AIIMS to Nirman Bhawan New Delhi.IMA the largest body of doctors and students in the country with around three lakh members has been opposing the NMC Bill that seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI). According to MCI the NMC Bill 2019 is anti students and anti-poor.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has intensely condemned the draft bill that seeks to replace MCI (Medical Council of India) with a new regulator or body. According to IMA, replacing MCI with National Medical Commission will cripple the medical profession in the country. On December 15, 2017, the Union Cabinet approved the draft National Medical Commission Bill 2017. Some of the experts hailed the move, while IMA criticised it.
Dr. KK Agarwal, President of IMA requested the Prime Minister of India to revise the draft NMC Bill 2017 in the larger interest of the medical profession. Through the move taken by the Union Cabinet, the medical profession will become answerable to the bureaucracy and non-medical administrators. The draft Bill abolished the MCI, particularly Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, which states that the basic qualification required for practising modern medicine is MBBS, he pointed.
Dr. Agarwal further noted that the draft NMC Bill 2017 would take away the voting right of every doctor in the country to elect their medical council. He termed the MCI as a representative body of the medical profession in India. MCI is a democratic institution, which allows any registered medical practitioner in the nation to contest in the election, also, it allows every qualified doctor to vote. Abolishing such a kind of institution is a negative step, and it will cripple the medical profession in the country, he highlighted.
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Adding further, Dr. Agarwal mentioned that draft Bill allows private medical colleges to charge fees at will which will nullify the reforms brought by NEET. The government has the authority to fix fees for only 40% seats in private medical colleges, and there will be no fee regulation for the rest. The Bill also recruits non-medical professionals into the highest body of medical governance, which is not appropriate. The Bill will further allow AYUSH graduates to get registration in modern medicine, he pointed.