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The doctors accuse the government of delay in resolving the situation. The government contends that the since the issue is pending in court, they cannot resolve it.
The admissions process and the allocation of colleges for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET, undergraduate and postgraduate students have been caught in the legal deadlock as the Supreme Court is looking into the matter of quota for Economically Weaker Sections.
Pointing to the Covid situation and the looming challenge of Omicron, which has created huge pressure on hospitals and medical professionals, junior doctors have threatened a complete shutdown of medical services if fresh hands are not brought in. Delay in college allotments is unacceptable now, they say.
The protesters have claimed that since yesterday, they faced a brutal police crackdown, and thousands were detained. Today, they were stopped from marching to the Supreme Court where the matter is pending.
At a meeting with the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association or FORDA this evening, Health Minister Mansukh Mandavia asked them to call off their strike. Sources said the ministry has assured that the report of a three-member committee, formed to review the EWS quota, will be placed before court during the January 6 hearing.
The Health Minister has also expressed regret about yesterday's confrontation between the Delhi Police and resident doctors, sources said.
Last week, the Indian Medical Association -- the top organization of doctors in the country -- wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking intervention in the crisis.
"As the NEET-PG exam was not held in January 2021, the aggressive second wave was handled by limited manpower of doctors and resulted in the loss of more than 2,000 noble professional souls in the Covid war... At that time, 1,60,000 doctors were waiting for the examination to be held," the IMA said in a statement.
The Supreme Court is hearing a bunch of petitions against the government's decision to provide 10 per cent quota for the Economically Weaker Sections in NEET admissions. Under a 2019 law, a general category student whose family earns less than Rs 8 lakh a year is eligible for this reservation.
The government has told the court that it will review the criteria and the next hearing is on January 6.
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