Jhansi: Junior doctors trying to present list of demands to Yogi Adityanath detained by cops, later released

Police on Sunday detained six junior doctors of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College trying to present Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with a list of demands. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister was visiting the college at Jhansi to take stock of the medical facilities. The police took the junior doctors to Prem Nagar Police Station and released them after the chief minister’s visit ended. Dr Hardeep Jogi, president of the Junior Doctors Association Jhansi, said he and the other five junior doctors were stopped by security when they tried to enter the programme held for the chief minister on the college campus. “We were told we couldn’t go inside because our names weren’t on the list. We requested that we be allowed to send our memorandum to the chief minister or at least be allowed to talk to the college principal. Security tried to call his phone but couldn’t connect. Suddenly, they began pushing us, forced us to sit in the van and took us to the police station. This was incredibly hurtful behaviour.” He added, “We were extremely disappointed with the behaviour of the officers. This is just wrong. We weren’t going to show the chief minister black flags! We were in our doctors’ uniform and wearing aprons and stethoscopes. We only went to ensure better facilities for future doctors. Our goal was to give voice to the demands of those frontline health workers slogging day in and day out during these difficult times of COVID-19.” Dr Jogi, a resident of Haryana, is pursuing his Master’s Degree in Jhansi. “This isn’t for our benefit,” he added. “We’ll finish our degree and leave after a year or two. Our goal was to leave things better than when we arrived.” Asked if he thinks action would be taken against him, Dr Jogi said, “The officers and teachers are a little annoyed. They’re saying ‘why didn’t you tell us about these issues?’ But how do you explain to them that at home you share problems with the elder brother, but when the father is present you can also put across your problems to him. Hence we wished to present the matter before the chief minister.” The junior doctors’ demands included sufficient stock of medicine for the college, a central library and a modern hostel for students. The letter read: “As you must be aware that the outbreak of the pandemic is going on. The resident doctors, the nursing worker, cleaning worker and medical health worker working in the medical college are doing their duty with full dedication under the leadership Principal Sir, but due to lack of some facilities, there is a problem, so you are requested to please resolve the below 3 point demands”: 1. Central Library should be arranged for the students who have come to study in the Medical College Jhansi and a new modern hostel should be arranged for them to stay in campus. For the said students, to make sure they’re not burdened of studies, sports field and gym should also be arranged in the medical college campus itself. 2. Make medicines available in sufficient quantity in the medical college, it is often seen that medicines are provided whenever there is an administrative visit. 3-Nursing personnel, scavengers and medical health workers working in medical college should be treated well by the administrative authorities so that they can work with utmost diligence in this pandemic, and their morale is kept high." Condemning the detention of the doctors, Dr Vinay Kumar, Uttar Pradesh Junior Doctor Association, said, “When no one was quarelling with the police and no doctor was violating protocol or security, then it is wrong that these doctors were taken to the police station. Such an incident hampers the morale of junior doctors. We, the junior doctors, are the backbone of any hospital. The memorandum should have at least been looked at.” Jhansi SP Vivek Tripathi said. “Somemoh people were trying to gain unauthorised entry into the chief minister’s programme. They had no identify proof and were hence not allowed to go in. They were questioned and then released after the chief minister’s programme.  Though some workers were on strike, security thought that these were employees. Later, it became clear that these people were junior doctors.”