Trinamool Congress slams medical council bill

The Trinamool Congress is at it again. On Wednesday, the key UPA ally criticised the government's Medical Council of India Bill in Rajya Sabha, two days after voting against it in the Lower House.

The Trinamool Congress is at it again. On Wednesday, the key UPA ally criticised the government's Medical Council of India Bill in Rajya Sabha, two days after voting against it in the Lower House.

During a discussion on the bill seeking to extend the tenure of the MCI board of governors by a year, Trinamool MP D Bandyopadhyay said, "I will keep my powder dry for some other day. I am slightly uncomfortable with the extension from two to three years."

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Four Trinamool MPs had voted against the bill during a discussion on it in the Lok Sabha.

He said the proposed National Council for Human Resources for Health will move towards "heavy centralisation" in the medical field.

Stating that the new body will encompass functioning of the medical and dental councils, he said, "We are moving from decentralisation to over-federalisation," Bandyopadhyay said.

Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had moved the bill.

CPM member P Rajeeve said the bill should be defeated, alleging that corruption was continuing in the MCI.