Anti-reservation agitation intensifies

THE AGITATION against reservation gained momentum on Thursday with over 150 MBBS students and junior doctors forcibly closing Out Patient Department (OPD) at the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital again. This was the second day when the medicos paralysed OPD services at the hospital.

THE AGITATION against reservation gained momentum on Thursday with over 150 MBBS students and junior doctors forcibly closing Out Patient Department (OPD) at the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital again. This was the second day when the medicos paralysed OPD services at the hospital.

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They also flayed the government's decision to give 27 per cent reservation to Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in aided institutions and indicated that they would continue their agitation in a very "comprehensive" manner.

The junior doctors and MBBS students gathered near the Emergency Department at around 11am and raised anti-Arjun Singh and anti-government slogans. They first closed the OPD at the SRN Hospital and then moved towards the medical college. They asked the students to immediately leave the class and then forcibly closed the class rooms.

Angry over the government's arbitrary decision to reserve 27 per cent seats, the students also requested the teachers to support their agitation. The junior doctors attacked the government for implementing caste-based reservation and not considering their demands. They said they would continue their agitation with the same intensity if the government failed to withdraw the quota system in leading technical and professional institutions.

"The future course of action will be decided after the Reservation Bill is introduced in Parliament on Friday. We are also considering different ways to protest against the controversial Bill," said Dr Neeraj, president Junior Doctors' Association (JDA) of MLN Medical College. Dr Neeraj said in the past the government assured them of considering their demands in context of quota Bill.

"But nothing happened and the government suddenly decided to table the Bill," he added.