Speaker V. Vaithilingam on Thursday said he would constitute a committee comprising MLAs to examine the provisions of the Puducherry Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss of Property) Bill, 2017.
Speaker made the announcement after Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy expressed the government’s willingness to defer passing of the Bill after a few members expressed apprehension on passing the Bill in the present form.
Immediately after the Bill was tabled for its passage, members objected to a clause which gives explicit scope to punish a person who leads violence against a doctor or hospital in case of an accident. “Any person who either by himself or as a member or as a leader of a group of persons or organisation commits or attempts to commit or abets or incites the commission of any act of violence shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to 10 years and with fine,” section 3 of the bill says.
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A. Anbalagan (AIADMK) and M.N.R. Balan (Congress) objected to the provision as people’s representatives they would be taking up genuine cases of medical negligence. The provision in the Bill would land them in trouble, he added.
The Chief Minister tried to argue that all States had enacted a law to protect doctors from violent attacks in case of a death in a hospital.
However, as more members joined the chorus, he expressed his desire to defer the Bill.
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