NMC Bill: IMA to suspend non-emergency OPD services on Saturday

He said the bill will be stopped at any cost.

On Saturday, IMA members will hold a procession and go to their respective Member of Parliament, District Collector's/Sub Collector's office and submit a Memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister, the statement said.

Branches with medical colleges have an additional responsibility to coordinate with action in the medical colleges involving the medical students, Wankhedkar said.

In March, the Union Health Ministry approved amendments to the NMC Bill including removing the contentious provision of "bridge course", which would have allowed practitioners of alternative medicines to pursue allopathy after stiff resistance from the IMA and the opposition.

In a statement issued yesterday, the IMA said the Bill in its current form remains "anti-poor, anti-people and anti-federal law" which, if passed, "will have unforeseen consequences on not only the health sector but also on the federal structure of the country."

Doctors belonging to the IMA had gone on a 12-hour strike as part of a nationwide stir against the NMC Bill in January.

The statement said the Bill will make medical education inaccessible to the poor and downtrodden and doctors will come only from the rich sections of the population.

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