NEW DELHI: While doctors in the city took to the streets demanding their rights, CM Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that as COVID-19 cases are surging again, these doctors should be in hospitals and not on the streets.
Kejriwal on Tuesday wrote to PM Narendra Modi urging him to expedite the process of NEET-PG counselling, which has caused delays in doctors getting their due seats in medical colleges.
"On one hand, the Omicon variant is spreading at an alarming speed, on the other, doctors in hospitals under the central government are on strike. Resident doctors at many big government hospitals such as AIIMS, Safdarjung are on strike for the last one month due to repeated postponement of NEET-PG counselling," the letter read.
“At present, COVID-19 cases are again on the rise in the whole country. If our doctors continue to strike, then how will we fight against the virus?" Kejriwal wrote.
An unprecedented delay in admission of PG doctors in medical colleges across the country this year has forced the resident doctors to protest, shunning work at OPDs and emergency services. On Monday evening, police detained a large number of protesting doctors and even manhandled them.
In a tweet condemning the police action, Kejriwal wrote, "The doctors served during the pandemic by risking their life. COVID-19 is rising again. The doctors should be in the hospitals, not on the streets. We strongly condemn the police brutality inflicted on the doctors. The Prime Minister must accept their demands soon."