At 1.00 pm today, November 30, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will meet the medical students protesting against the state's bond policy. The development comes after a recent meeting of the students with government officials remained inconclusive.
The meeting will be held in Chandigarh, said Anuj Dhania, a protesting MBBS student. He said that a circular regarding the proposed meeting had already been issued by the Director of Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) Rohtak, as per a report by PTI.
The MBBS students have been protesting for almost a month now over the bond policy. They are principally demanding that the bond policy be modified to include a reduction in the duration of compulsory government service from the current seven years to one year and the bond default amount to not exceed Rs 5 lakh.
On Sunday, November 27, a meeting between representatives of the agitating MBBS students, resident doctors and Haryana government officials turned out to offer no solution to the situation. On Monday, November 28, Outpatient Department (OPD) services at the private hospitals in the state were also suspended, as doctors affiliated with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) boycotted work in support of the protesting students.
And on Saturday, Khattar had said that the students' doubts regarding the policy were being cleared and that the issue was likely to be resolved shortly. "The bond policy does not mean to harass the family of any doctor or any poor family," he said. He added that the policy had been implemented to encourage MBBS students to choose government service after completing their education in government-run medical colleges.
According to the bond policy, MBBS students in government institutions will have to execute a tripartite agreement (with the bank and the government) of Rs 40 lakh, including their tuition fee, at the time of admission. The policy aims to ensure that medical students serve in government facilities for seven years after completing their degrees. And if students opt out of serving in a government-run health institution, then they would have to pay the entire amount. A moratorium shall be extended for students wishing to pursue post-graduation, as per PTI.
The Khattar-run state government has come under criticism from the Opposition over this policy. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had earlier blamed the alleged insensitive attitude of the government for the ongoing agitation. Hooda had said that the government remained "indifferent and callous" to the students' concerns.
