Tamil Nadu: Former CM urges Govt to implement order over doctors pay revision

Chennai: Reiterating the Tamil Nadu government doctors' demands over implementing a Government Order (GO) related to doctors' seniority and pay structure, the Former Chief Minister and ousted AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam asked the government to implement that GO, which was issued in 2009 during the time of the erstwhile DMK government. 

He criticized the state government for not fulfilling the demands of the government doctors, stating that the DMK is running a "fascist-style government under the pretext of a Dravidian Model government.  

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He urged the current DMK government to implement the G.O. No. 354 issued in 2009 and retrieve the actions taken against the representatives of doctors' associations who were planning to stage a protest, as per a media report in the Hindu. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported about the protest staged by around 1000 government doctors, including members of the Federation of Government Doctors' Associations (FOGDA) over their long pending demand for periodical pay revision and other issues.

The minister extended his support to the protesting doctors, stating that protest as a tool to express their grievances is not wrong. He urged the government to listen to the grievances of the doctors and address them accordingly. 

Referring to a number of reports, he said that actions were taken against representations of a number of doctors associations who had decided to stage a protest on October 30 to express their demands. 

The former CM observed, "The Chief Minister should think about his statement earlier as opposition leader when he said staging a protest was their [government doctors'] right and duty. But he is taking action against them now." Stating that the government is taking action against the protesting doctors under the claim of disciplinary action, he said, "The DMK government is not keen on implementing GO. Instead, it resorts to acts of vengeance (against the doctors). It should revoke its orders targeting the office-bearers of the government doctors' association." 

The then DMK government in Tamil Nadu had set up a committee in July 2009 based on a request from the Tamil Nadu Government Doctor's Association to look into promotional opportunities for government doctors at various levels. Following the committee-based report and looking at the committee recommendations, the government had issued the G.O.(Ms) No. 354 through the Health and Family Welfare Department. 

The former minister also recalled the promise made by the current Chief Minister M K Stalin, when he was the Leader of the Opposition where the latter had assured the protesting government doctors' fraternities of Chennai in 2019 to implement the GO 354, which was passed by the DMK regime under M Karunanidhi to improve the pay and promotional opportunities for government doctors, reports the DTNext. At that time, Stalin had stood with the protesting doctors, stating that their protests were their rights. 

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