NEET PG counselling: Health Minister Mandaviya explains reason behind delay
- Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today said that he held a meeting with protesting resident doctors
NEET PG counselling delay: Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday urged the protesting resident doctors to call off their strike in the public interest.
Thousands of residents doctors in Delhi have been protesting over delay in PG counselling, thereby delay in fresh admissions resulting in shortage of manpower.
Backing the protest, AIIMS Resident Doctors' Association, Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) and Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) have called for a complete shut down of health services on December 29.
Today, the health minister said that he held a meeting with all resident doctors.
He said the central government was not holding the counselling as the case is pending in the Supreme Court. “We are not able to do the counselling because the matter is sub-judice before Supreme Court. The hearing will take place on Jan 6. I hope that NEET PG counselling will start soon,” he said.
Last week, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the counselling crisis and augment manpower to face a possible third wave of Covid.
The NEET PG exam was scheduled to be held in January 2021 but postponed in view of the first and second wave and was held on September 12, 2021.
However, due to the legal impediments of the Supreme Court now the Counselling is withheld resulting in a shortage of 45,000 doctors on the frontline, the letter added.
The counselling was supposed to begin from October 25, 2021, which was put on hold by the Supreme Court till the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Other Backward Class (OBC) reservation matter was resolved.
The apex court is hearing a batch of pleas filed by students challenging the 27% reservation for OBC and 10% for EWS category in the NEET-PG admissions for medical courses for the current academic year.
The Centre has fixed ₹8 lakh income criteria for determining EWS. The court, however, said that the income limit of determining the creamy layer in OBC category is the same ₹8 lakh. So would it not be arbitrary to provide a similar income limit for EWS and OBC, the court observed.
The SC further said the 103rd constitution amendment says that criteria for EWS will be notified by the state governments, then how can the Centre notify a uniform EWS criterion for the whole of the country.
Last month, the Centre told the top court that it had taken a considered decision to revisit the limit of ₹8 lakh annual income fixed for determining EWS category for reservation in NEET admissions.
The case is posted for hearing on January 6.
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First Published:28 Dec 2021, 05:47 PM IST
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