With pressure building on the government to end the ongoing strike by private doctors, Health Minister Ramesh Kumar is set to hold a meeting tonight with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and top-ranking officials of the Health Department.
Disclosing this while replying to Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Jagadish Shettar, the Health Minister strongly denied the allegation that Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill was “anti-people”. He remarked: “If it is anti-people, then how can we face people during elections which are fast approaching.”
He strongly defended the initiative to fix rates for different medical services by pointing out that that the government was paying tax-payers’ money to them.
Making it clear that the government was not against private doctors, he said the intention of the Bill was not to punish the doctors or their establishments. At the same time, he maintained that it was the duty of any responsible government in a democratic set-up to protect the interests of the unorganised sector and poor people. “The unorganised sector comprises poor patients who struggle to get back the body of their kin unable to pay the medical bills at hospitals,” he said. “Our government will lean towards unorganised sector and poor,” he remarked.
Appealing to doctors to withdraw the stir, he sought to remind them that they were like gods for patients.
He also attacked the media for carrying reports that failure to provide proper treatment would attract jail punishment for doctors.
He further denied reports that he was planning to quit in a huff. “I have not become a Minister to put in my resignation. There is no need for it,” he maintained.
