Click to play videoNew Delhi: Medical students of five medical have warned that they would resume their strike after the Assembly polls if the Government doesn't drop its new quota proposal.
The students on Thursday met HRD Minister Arjun Singh, who told he can't discuss the issue during polls. Singh has earned the students' ire for his proposal to reserve 27 per cent seats for other backward classes (OBCs) in premier educational institutions.
"I was pained by the news that a number of students of medical colleges wanted to meet me (on the reservation issue) and were not allowed to come and see me," he said.
"Unfortunately, because of the directions of the Election Commission, I am not in a position to interact with them and I have to maintain silence till the elections are over," he said in a statement.
Students of five Delhi medical colleges clashed with the police on Wednesday when they were stopped from marching towards Singh's residence in Delhi. On Thursday, they went on a strike.
Singh said he was ready meet anybody but "of course there has to be some limitations on the numbers. "Still if anybody wants to meet me, I have no hesitation to meet them as may be requested."
Sources said Singh has asked the Delhi Police to remove personnel deployed near his residence.
However, the students of five Delhi medical colleges have decided to continue the their indefinite strike to protest against the proposed quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Central government universities and colleges.
Students of Maulana Azad Medical College, Lady Hardinge Medical College, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, University College of Medical Sciences and Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College took part in the protest.
"Only OPD services were affected during the strike. Other services remained normal," Lochan said.
Some students of these colleges have decided to boycott the second and fourth semester exams, but Lochan said, "It was their individual decision. We have not yet decided on boycotting the exams but some students are doing it on their own."
Dr Vinay Aggarwal, secretary general of the Indian Medical Association, said 31 medical associations across the country will meet in Delhi on April 30 to plan their strategy against the proposed quota.
"We'll be going to the entire country. Our state branches will coordinate this movement with medical colleges and students of other institutes of higher education which are going to be affected by this," Aggarwal said.
Target Arjun
Students claimed the police assaulted them though they were protesting peacefully near Singh’s residence on Thursday. They accused political parties of indulging in vote-bank politics. They said reservations should be based on economic status and at the primary level.
Protesting under the banner ‘Youth for Equality’, the demonstrators included students from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Lady Hardinge Medical college and Maulana Azad Medical college.
After the violence, the three colleges have decided to go on a strike in protest against the policy.
The students have also demanded the government tender an apology for today’s incident.
The protestors, removed by the police from Singh's 17 Akbar Road residence, later demonstrated at Jantar Mantar, raising slogans against the minister.
"The politicians are catering to their vote banks. Not one party opposed the bill in Parliament. They are playing divide and rule, said Supriya Gupta, President of the Lady Hardinge College.
"The quota will severely compromise the kind of health professionals this country gets. Human life is at stake,” she said, adding that colleagues from the OBC category are "financially, intellectually and economically equal".
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