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Coronavirus outbreak: Don’t post derogatory remarks against state government on social media, IMA Maharashtra tells doctors
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Maharashtra, has issued a letter to its members, asking them to use “non-offending language” while posting their comments on
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Maharashtra, has issued a letter to its members, asking them to use “non-offending language” while posting their comments on WhatsApp groups against the state government. Doctors in the state have criticised the move.
According to IMA, government agencies have informed the association that some doctors are posting comments against the government and the decisions taken with regards to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The letter, released by IMA on Monday, reads, “We received intimation from one of the officers at Maharashtra Cyber cell that spoke of the WhatsApp groups of doctors posting comments against the Maharashtra government and its officers.”
The letter further stated that social media groups should be used to send messages and discuss news, and not for “derogatory comments on the government’s decisions”. “We may post our reactions to certain decisions but in non-offending languages,” it reads.
The development comes at a time when 250 medical staffers have contracted the infection through cross-transmission in Mumbai’s hospitals. Many doctors have interpreted IMA’s diktat as a violation of freedom of speech. “Doctors on Covid duty are being attacked all across the state, but there is no law or proper security measures to protect them. Hundreds of doctors are contracting the virus on duty owing to lack of safety kits. We are the front-line staff but we don’t have rights to criticise the government,” said a senior pulmonologist from a south Mumbai hospital.
However, Dr Avinash Bhondwe, IMA president, Maharashtra, has clarified that doctors are only being asked to refrain from offensive comments. He said, “We are not asking the doctors not to give their opinions. We are requesting them not to use any foul or abusive languages.”
After the IMA released its letter, another letter with photo-shopped images was circulated in social media sites, which claimed that IMA is an agency of the state government and is trying to suppress the opinion of the doctors. Dr Bhondwe has decided to file a complaint with the cyber cell of the police against the fake letter.
‘White Alert’ on Wednesday
IMA has asked its members to observe a ‘White Alert’ on Wednesday 9pm at their respective hospitals and light candles wearing their white coats to protest against an incident in Chennai in which a mob did not permit the burial of the body of a doctor who died of coronavirus.
The association has also warned that if the central government doesn’t enact a law on violence against doctors and hospitals, IMA will observe a ‘Black Day’ on Thursday, during which all the doctors will wear a black badge while working.