IMA President Dr. Asokan Calls for PM Modi’s Intervention in Kolkata Doctor’s Tragic Case

New Delhi, August 17: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) National President, Dr. Asokan, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the tragic rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Dr. Asokan emphasized the need for the Prime Minister’s involvement, especially after PM Modi’s recent speech on women’s safety.

Dr. Asokan stated, “Yes, we’ll write to PM. We will be writing to the PM. The time is ripe for his intervention… Certainly, that (PM Modi mentioning women’s safety in his August 15 speech) is one aspect that shows that he is concerned. It will be very appropriate to write to the prime minister. IMA will be doing that.”

He also mentioned that the IMA had met with the Health Minister and is now awaiting the government’s response. Dr. Asokan highlighted that doctors across various sectors are united in their protest against the incident, ensuring that emergency services and casualties are still being attended to.

“The response is overwhelming from every corner of the country. Doctors stand united against this injustice. The protest is there, taking care of the emergency services and the casualties. The medical profession has stood united across the country. Across all the sectors whether it’s private, government, or corporate doctors are in protest. We are paying international attention to this issue because this involves the issue of the safety of women,” he said.

Following the IMA’s announcement of a nationwide strike, doctors at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi staged a protest march, holding posters and raising slogans of “We want justice.”

IMA Secretary General Dr. Anil Kumar J Nayak expressed hope that the government would enact the Central Protection Act (CPA) they are demanding. “Our junior and resident doctors carried out a maha rally yesterday. 4000-5000 doctors joined it… Everyone is agitated and they are demanding safety. They are demanding CPA, Central Protection Act… We met Union Minister JP Nadda and we will keep meeting other authorities. They are positive but there is nothing concrete from them yet… We are hopeful that they will bring the law that we are demanding,” he said.

The IMA has declared a 24-hour withdrawal of services by all modern medicine doctors across the country, except for emergencies and casualties, from 6 am on Saturday to 6 am on Sunday, August 18, 2024. This decision comes in response to the nationwide outrage over the incident.

On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered on duty at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, leading to massive protests and strikes by the medical community. The incident also resulted in vandalism at the hospital campus, forcing security personnel to disperse the crowd.