Protesting students of Haryana's Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) Rohtak have been directed to list their demands before the state government in their ongoing agitation against the state's bond policy. They were informed by the Director of the institute that the Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, has requested the same.
MBBS students from four medical colleges in the state gathered today, November 15, in front of Rohtak University's Dean/Director’s office to continue their protest. Several medical students took to Twitter to share this information and show solidarity with the protesting students. "We have been asked to compile our demands and compare the state's bond policy with that of other states and submit it to the government," said Pankaj Bitthu, a senior student from PGIMS, studying his pre-final year.
The students have also given the Director and the government a three-day ultimatum to listen to their demands and remove the FIRs placed on protesting students. "If they do not agree to this, we will protest in Panchkula outside the Deputy Commissioner's office," said Akash Mehra, a PGIMS student.
The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) had earlier extended support to the doctors. “FORDA stands with all the medical colleges of Haryana in this invocation. Hope the impurities of atrocious bond policy are washed out with this solicitation of the ‘deaf’ Haryana govt not paying any heed to their demands,” they stated in a tweet.
To recall, the Haryana medical students have been protesting against the state government’s new bond policy, which would oblige those enrolled in government medical colleges to pay a bond of Rs 10 lakh a year, in addition to their tuition fee. This policy is a part of the controversial policy that the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Haryana, published in the 2020 Gazette.
