Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences

Health minister Ramdhani Singh will urge his central counterpart, Harsh Vardhan, to look into the Medical Council of India (MCI) decision restricting admissions into the MBBS course at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) and two new government medical colleges at Pawapuri and Bettiah. The two would meet on Friday.

Ramdhani said: “We have been in the course of rectifying all anomalies pointed out by the MCI but this sudden decision of the apex body has taken us by surprise. We had already removed several incongruities.”

He alleged MCI was according a step-motherly treatment to Bihar, saying the apex body had acted in an arbitrary manner.

“We had requested the Election Commission during the Lok Sabha polls to allow the state to go for infrastructure development at the two new medical colleges after the MCI had passed strictures against those. However, the commission did not give its permission due to the model code of conduct. Soon after the election, the MCI imposed restrictions on the colleges,” the state minister said.

Along with the restrictions, MCI also reduced the MBBS seats at three government medical colleges at Bhagalpur, Gaya and Darbhanga.

The MCI has reduced the number of MBBS seats from 100 to 50 at both Bhagalpur and Gaya medical colleges while the seats have been pruned to 90 from 100 at Darbhanga.

Adding to these, 100 seats each at IGIMS, Bettiah and Pawapuri, the state loses more than 400 MBBS seats due to restrictions imposed by the MCI this academic session.

The issue would be raised vehemently with the Union health minister, Ramdhani said, adding that Harsh Vardhan would also visit Muzaffarpur where more than hundred children had died of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in the last one month.

Principal secretary, health, Deepak Kumar would accompany the Union minister to Muzaffarpur, Ramdhani said.