Compounders know more than doctors: Maha IMA, MARD condemn politician's remarks against Doctors, WHO

Moreover, the Maharashtra doctors have also criticised Raut's alleged remarks against the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, the politician denied the charges on Monday.

In a chat on a television channel, Raut had reportedly commented on the WHO and raised questions on the doctors vis-a-vis compounders. Raut is at the center of a row after his reported comment that he "never goes to a doctor as they know nothing (about their profession)". What does a doctor know. Whenever I need, I take medicines from a compounder," the Rajya Sabha MP had reportedly said.

"The WHO is a useless organisation, because of which the Covid-19 pandemic came," he allegedly said.

Irked by the statements, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) protested and wrote to CM. The letter said, The chief minister lauds doctors as corona warriors, but his party colleague bad mouths the same profession. Are we doing all efforts (to combat COVID-19) to listen to such insinuation?"- as quoted by PTI

While the IMA state chapter on Sunday passed a resolution to condemn Raut's alleged statements. The representatives of all the 216 IMA-M branches also demanded Raut's apology to the entire medical community and withdrawal of his statements.

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In this backdrop, the IMA has written to Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu as Raut is a Rajya Sabha member, apart from Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the matter.

"Such disparaging, disrespectful and dishonouring comments by a respectable leader, a journalist, and a Rajya Sabha member have hurt the feelings of doctors in Maharashtra. These slighting and uncomplimentary remarks have damaged the morale of the doctors who are fighting Covid-19 for more than four-and-a-half months now," the IMA-M said.

"Nowadays, many Ministers, politicians, social workers are abusing and cursing the doctors at large for no fault of theirs. To criticise the doctors on the social media in demeaning and humiliating language has become a trend these days," the statement read.

The statement issued by the IMA Thane read, The whole world is trying to win the war against the Coronavirus in this pandemic. The healthcare workers are working at great risk not only to themselves personally but also risking their dependants: spouse. children and aged senior citizen parents. At this critical time, we would look up to the government and politicians to stand with these frontline workers."

SHowing their condemnation that a senior politician like Rauti would say that -compounders know more than doctors, the IMA Thane has asked for his resignation. "We doctors cannot work efficiently and sincerely with such negative and derogatory comments. All the doors are demoralized and look up to you to take necessary action," they stated.

IMA-M President Dr Avinash Bhondwe said that 300,000 doctors in the state are working incessantly during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Doctors all over the state are working day and night to save the lives of the people of Maharashtra as a duty towards humanity and with the utmost social commitment. Around 50 doctors have lost their lives fighting Covid-19," he said in a statement.

However, Raut denied that he had hurt the sentiments of the medical fraternity and thus there was no need for him to say sorry, reports IANS

"I had said that doctors are such a powerful community and they have given us equally strong compounders. This is a matter of credit to them, and they should be rewarded for this," said Raut.

He maintained that without understanding the context of his statements, some people from a certain political party have taken to protests though he was criticising the WHO.

Raut pointed out that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had criticised the Indian doctors in London, the medicos in the UK had protested, but none in India objected.

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