Give Bharat Ratna to entire Medical Fraternity: Kejriwal tells PM Modi
Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider conferring the " Bharat Ratna" award collectively to health care professionals, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics as a way of paying true homage to those who have been on the front-line of India's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
For this, the CM has written a letter to the Prime Minister demanding Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award to be given to the medical community as a whole. It will be honouring the martyred doctors who lost their lives while serving the country during the pandemic, he said.
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"The 'Indian Doctor' should receive Bharat Ratna this year. 'Indian Doctor' means all doctors, nurses, and paramedics. It will be a true homage to all martyred doctors. It will be an honour for those who have been serving without caring for their lives and families. The whole country will be glad at this", Kejriwal had said in a tweet in Hindi.
Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award. The recipients receive a certificate signed by the President and a peepal leaf-shaped medallion. It was last conferred on former President Pranab Mukherjee, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh, and singer Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika in 2019. The one recognized doctor who received the Bharat Ratna so far was Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, a great doctor, freedom fighter, and CM of West Bengal.
"Many doctors and nurses sacrificed their lives fighting Corona. If we honour them with Bharat Ratna then it will be a true tribute to them. Lakhs of doctors and nurses served people selflessly without worrying about their lives and families. There can be no other better way (than honouring them with Bharat Ratna) to thank and honour them," Kejriwal wrote in the letter, quotes ANI
He also stressed that necessary changes should be made in rules so that the medical community can be awarded the highest civilian award. " If rules do not permit to confer Bharat Ratna on a group, then I request you to change the rules. The entire country is grateful to our doctors. Every citizen of the country will be happy if they (doctors) are honoured with Bharat Ratna", Kejriwal appealed to the PM in the letter.
As many as 730 doctors have succumbed to coronavirus infection during the second wave, according to data available by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in mid-June. Bihar saw the maximum number of 115 deaths, followed by Delhi at 109, Uttar Pradesh 79, West Bengal 62, Rajasthan 43, Jharkhand 39, and Andhra Pradesh 38, the data showed. According to the IMA, 748 doctors died in the first wave of the pandemic, adds ANI.
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