Chandigarh, Feb 7 (IANS) Punjab’s Health Minister Brahm Mohindra has urged MPs from the state to oppose the National Medical Commission (NMC) bill recently introduced in the Lok Sabha.

While pointing out that the Bill would grossly undermine the role of states and majority of the states will go unrepresented in the NMC, he said that it will also make medical education very expensive in the country.

A letter written by the minister to the MPs on February 2 was released to the media here on Wednesday.

Urging the MPs to oppose the NMC, which has been referred to a parliamentary standing committee, Mohindra said: “After going through the draft of this bill, it seems that the draft of NMC bill has been prepared by non-medicos. I can say that this bill is dictatorial and impinges on the freedom of allopathic practitioners. For petty political gains, the central government is on the path of systematic destruction of the constitutional institutions.”

He pointed out that under a clause of the proposed Bill, only five states, from among 29 states, will be represented in the body and the remaining 24 states will not have any representation. He added that Punjab earlier had two representatives in the Medical Council of India, which is proposed to be replaced by the NMC.

“The introduction of this bill will make medical education very expensive and will deprive the under-privileged students to an accessible and affordable medical education by allowing the private medical colleges to frame their own fee structure. This is because the commission can frame the fee structure of seats not exceeding 40 percent in private medical colleges, thus, leaving the fee structure of 60 percent seats in the hands of managements of private medical colleges,” the minister said.

“The private medical colleges will fix the rates which will lead to harassment of the students. This bill is anti-people and will discourage the intelligent but not so rich students to enter this profession. The central government is planning to bring in non-medical persons to control such a sensitive body to regulate the allopathic medical profession and medical education in our country,” Mohindra warned.

–IANS
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