India News | Oppn Parties in Pondy Seek Withdrawal of JIPMER Circular on Collection of User Charges from Poor Patients
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Leaders belonging to the Secular Democratic Alliance (SDA) here on Sunday urged the Centre to rollback the circular issued by the centrally administered JIPMER to collect user charges for advanced medical facilities from poor patients.
Puducherry May 7 (PTI) Leaders belonging to the Secular Democratic Alliance (SDA) here on Sunday urged the Centre to rollback the circular issued by the centrally administered JIPMER to collect user charges for advanced medical facilities from poor patients.
Addressing reporters at the end of a joint meeting of the parties attached to the SDA here, Congress leader and former Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said, "This circular is a clear anti-poor initiative and it should be scrapped without delay".
He said Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol Thirumavalavan along with party cadres had staged a protest against the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) on May 5 criticising the levy of user charges and demanded its immediate withdrawal in the larger interest of the poor patients.
Citing Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan stating that "The VCK leaders were only making wrong allegation that the user charge was being collected in the premier hospital", Narayanasmy said, "It is for the management of JIPMER or the Union Health Minister to clarify the situation. The Lt Governor has no locus standi to reply to the agitation of the VCK."
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The Congress leader said that the parties attached to SDA would soon launch a series of agitations here requesting JIPMER to withdrawal the circular.
VCK leader and member of Parliament from neighbouring Tamilnadu, D Ravikumar, who attended the meeting said that he had already registered protest against the levying of fees during his meeting with the higher ups in JIPMER.
"I have also intervened without loss of time whenever the central funds were reduced for JIPMER and ensured sufficient allocation of funds were provided," he said.
DMK opposition leader in Puducherry Assembly R Siva was also present.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)