Government blinks on stringent clauses; doctors end protest

BELAGAVI: After an ultimatum from the Karnataka prime court docket and disturbing parleys with the state govt, non-public medical doctors and hospitals on Friday returned to their campuses, calling off their protest towards the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2017. Chief minister Siddaramaiah, who spoke to the representatives of medical doctors' associations, described the negotiations as fruitful. "The government agreed to concede some of their demands and rejected a few," he stated. Sources privy to the complaints stated, the CM took the medical doctors to process for going on strike even if the bill used to be yet to be tabled.

Sources stated the government has agreed to reduce stiff penalty clauses and continue the prison term for erring medical doctors — a throwback to the 2007 version of the Bill. Also, the government is learnt to have agreed to cap costs only for sufferers availing remedy under the government's Universal Health Scheme. Indian Medical Association's state leader HN Ravindra stated they agreed to call off their strike following positive response from the government.

The revised bill is predicted to be tabled within the legislative assembly on Monday. The step forward in talks got here hours after the court docket issued an ultimatum to the medical doctors to either finish their strike through 4.30 pm Friday or face the consequences. The bench chastised the medical doctors for taking the problem to the streets, and stated 'proper to life' used to be a basic human proper as also a fundamental proper