Medicos meet Kalam; to continue stir

"We respect Prez' plea to end stir, but, we are not satisfied," said delegations.

President APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday met representatives of the striking medicos but the meeting could not break the impasse with the students and doctors deciding to continue with their agitation.

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A 12-member delegation of agitating medicos, which also included members of AIIMS Faculty Association who have been supporting the anti-quota stir, had a 45-minute meeting with Kalam. The medicos presented a charter of demands to Kalam.

"We respect President's appeal to those on hunger strike to call of the strike. But, we are not satisfied," Dr Vinod Patro, President of the AIIMS's Resident Doctors Association and member of the "Youth for Equality", the group which is spearheading the ongoing agitation, said after the meeting.

The doctors, who had been seeking Kalam's intervention on the quota issue, said "our movement continues."

Kalam has assured the medicos that he would ensure what government has said was implemented.

The Government has declared that the number of general category seats would not be affected with implementation of the quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

However, the talks were stuck on the issue of setting up of a non-political commission to examine the reservation policy and exclusion of creamy layer from the OBC quota, the doctors said.

Dr AB Dey from the AIIMS Faculty Association, who was also part of the delegation, said doctors were not against reservation but it should be "scientific and evidence based."