NEET PG aspirants from Gujarat are worried that the state has allowed all NEET PG and FMGE qualified candidates from other states, with a domicile certificate and proof of Class XI and XII completion in Gujarat, to take part in the State Counselling Rounds. They approached the Gujarat High Court regarding this matter on September 19 and the case was heard today, September 26.
As far as the court proceedings are concerned, Dr Meet Ghonia, a NEET PG aspirant, Indian Medical Association (IMA) standing committee member and health activist, informed EdexLive that the hearing took place for a very short time. “A Two-judge Bench, headed by the Chief Justice, presided over the hearing. They wanted to understand the matter in depth, so the hearing has been postponed,” he said. Today, the court issued a notice to the state government that the NEET PG 2022 (State) Counselling merit list should not be published until the hearing is underway. “There were two senior advocates present from the government’s side. They accepted the notice on behalf of the government,” Dr Meet said.
The aspirant-activist additionally informed that the students were also represented by two senior advocates and they demanded an urgent hearing. “So, the next hearing is most likely to happen tomorrow morning (September 27) at 11 am. But confirmation is awaited,” Dr Meet stated. He added that the request of concluding the hearing before the starting of October was put forth before the Bench.
According to Dr Meet, the students are hopeful that the court decides in their favour. In an earlier interview with EdexLive, some of the PG medical aspirants from the state had shared that they were at the risk of losing seats even after being eligible because of the government’s decision. They were concerned that the State Quota seats were meant for students from Gujarat only and stated that it was “unfair” if others were allowed to avail them. The NEET PG aspirants of Gujarat (Gujarat Intern Doctors’ Association) even staged a protest regarding the issue today, from 10 am to 2 pm. The protests took place at eight different locations — Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Baroda, Valsad, Junagadh, Patan, Vadnagar and Bhuj. About 1,000 doctors participated in the protests, with around 100-150 doctors from each site, informed a PG aspirant-doctor, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Apart from justice in the State Quota issue, the doctors in the protest raised two other demands, as per the aspirant. And they are:
1. Removal of the 10 per cent in-service quota: The state government has provided the in-service quota from this year. According to the NEET PG aspirants, they are unhappy with it because such a quota leaves many PG doctors devoid of permanent government jobs. “The doctors who have already served for 3-5 years in the hospitals would be most likely to get the permanent jobs,” a candidate stated.
2. Seat blocking: Dr Meet informed that according to the last two clauses in the notice issued by the state government, the students who apply for seats but do not avail of them (which is termed as seat blocking) do not have to pay any fines. This means that seat blocking is allowed, Dr Meet said, adding that they wanted this allowance barred.
The Gujarat Intern Doctors’ Association members from Rajkot and Junagadh have also submitted memorandums to the Chief Medical Officers, via their respective colleges’ deans today. The memorandums state the students’ concerns.
