Govt. succumbing to pressure of private medical establishment lobby, says activist
Around 100 people associated with different organisations staged a demonstration outside the district administrative complex here on Saturday opposing the attempts to dilute proposed amendments to the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) Act. Holding placards and raising slogans, the agitating activists condemned the government for bending to the pressures of private doctors. They demanded that the proposed amendments should be tabled in the legislature without any modification.
“The proposed amendments were rational and reasonable. They were designed to safeguard the interests of common people by protecting them from medical malpractices and irrational pricing. It is unfortunate that the government is succumbing to the pressures of private medical establishment lobby and diluting the amendments,” Teena Xavier, a health-right activist associated with Karnataka Janarogya Chalavali, said.
She also took exception to the way the government had convened the meeting of only agitating doctors, excluding the other stakeholders such as health-right activists. She warned of intensifying people’s agitation if the government tabled the amendment bill in a diluted form.
A memorandum was submitted to the office of Deputy Commissioner. Activists from Karnataka Domestic Workers Union, Samaja Parivartana Janandolana, Karnataka Slum Janandolana, Swaraj Abhiyan, Seva Sangam Samsthe, Community Development Foundation and other outfits participated in the protest.
