A poster at AN Medical College in Gaya on Monday. Picture by Suman

Patna, Jan. 31: The junior doctors on strike today got support and suggestion from their seniors.

Condemning the firing incident at AN Medical College in Gaya last night, the members of Bihar chapter of Indian Medical Association (IMA) threatened to go on strike if the state government failed to take stern action against the RJD legislator, Surendra Prasad Yadav, within 72 hours. Till then, they advised their juniors to work on humanitarian ground.

“We are tired of being at the receiving end of troublemakers and cannot take it anymore. The guilty MLA, who provoked his guards to open fire against the doctors on duty, should be immediately brought to book and the Medical Professional Protection Act (MPPA) should be implemented in the state. The junior doctors’ demands are justified and we fully support them. After 72 hours from now, we will convene a meeting. Depending on the action taken by the government, we will decide on what to do next. If stern action is not taken against the MLA we can call for an overall strike by doctors in the state,” said Dr Capt V.S. Singh, the national vice-president of IMA.

The IMA, however, urged the junior doctors to get back to duty in view of the suffering humanity. “The strike from midnight has sent the message to the government. We should give the state some time to take action. If the government fails to take proper measures, the medicos can think over their decision again. In the meantime, the junior doctors should resume their work as a large number of patients are suffering,” Singh said.

The IMA vice-president urged the Assembly Speaker to take action against the member of the House. He said RJD chief Lalu Prasad should expell Yadav from his party.

“If such people are not given exemplary punishment, more such incidents will happen. There have been many such incidents in recent past where doctors have been harassed without any reason. There has to be an end to it. That’s why we want MPPA to come in force in the state,” Singh said.

Sachhidanand Prasad Singh, the senior vice-president of IMA, Bihar, said: “Almost every state, except Bihar, has adopted the act and it had made a lot of difference. We fail to understand why the Bihar government is not implementing it here despite our demand for years now,” he said.

Members of Bihar Health Services Association echoed IMA’s views. “We are fully backing the protest by our juniors. We demand government action against the real culprit,” said Dr Ajay Kumar, convener, BHSA.