SRINAGAR: Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar Syed Aga Ruhullah Mehdi on Sunday questioned the Jammu and Kashmir Government over the alleged coercion of medical interns protesting for an enhanced stipend, saying college principals were warning them of consequences if they did not resume duties.
Mehdi, who recently announced his resignation from the ruling National Conference, wrote separately to Health Minister Sakina Itoo and the principals of medical colleges, seeking clarification over the alleged pressure on the protesting interns.
In his letter to Sakina Itoo, the MP questioned the change in the administration’s approach after the Health Minister had described the interns’ demand as genuine. He also referred to an assurance that a date would be given for resolving the issue.
Mehdi alleged that principals had subsequently started warning interns against continuing their indefinite strike and asked the minister to establish whether such instructions had come from the Health Department.
He said that if the principals were acting independently, the government should ascertain the reasons and take corrective action.
The MP said the government could not publicly acknowledge the interns’ demand as genuine while allowing institutional heads to allegedly pressure those raising it.
He stressed that the protesters were young doctors who had spent nine years pursuing their medical education and worked in casualty wards, adding that their right to peaceful protest did not cease because they were medical trainees.
Mehdi also said that despite assurances from the Health Minister, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had not yet issued a formal order announcing an enhanced stipend or assuring the interns that they would face no action for participating in the protest.
He said previous assurances had failed to resolve the issue and argued that this was why the interns continued their protest.
In his separate communication to the medical college principals, Mehdi urged them to support the interns and questioned the alleged warnings issued to them.
He said the interns had been taught by the same institutions for years and were seeking a stipend comparable with what interns receive elsewhere in the country. He noted that the Health Minister had described the demand as genuine, the Chief Minister had endorsed it and a government committee had recommended it in 2023.
Mehdi maintained that peaceful protest remained a constitutional right and said the interns’ status as trainees did not take away that right.
