SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Jan 28: The Jharkhand Health Service Association (JHSA), the frontal state body of government doctors, is on the boil over the comment of Congress MLA Dr Irfan Ansari in which he asked his supporters to drag the civil surgeon out of his chamber. It has sought an apology from him to the doctors’ community immediately.
The JHSA officials said the incident occurred on January 25 in Jamtara. Under statewide agitation, contractual health employees, including ANMs and GNMs had been sitting on dharna for regularization of their service and increment in honorarium.
The Jamtara MLA also reached the dharna spot in support of health employees. When ANMs and GNMs informed him that they had been working for the last 16 years and paid a nominal honorarium, Dr Ansari directed his supporters to drag out a civil surgeon ( Dr SN Jha) to him immediately.
As the video clipping of Dr Irfan’s comment became viral, the JHSA took serious note and demanded an apology from him.
JHSA state president Dr PP Sah and Secretary Dr Thakur Mritunjay Kumar Singh while strongly condemning the comment of Dr Irfan Ansari said that resentment has prevailed among doctors. Rather than felicitating the civil surgeon for providing outstanding services to patients in remote areas under limited resources, the MLA is humiliating him in presence of subordinates.
“The issues of regularizing contractual health staff and enhancing their honorarium come under the jurisdiction of the state government, not the civil surgeon of a district. Moreover, Dr Irfan Ansari is an influential MLA of the ruling party and he should rake it up with his government rather than holding the civil surgeon responsible for cheap popularity”, said DR PP Sah and Dr Thakur Mritunjay Kumar Singh.
The JHSA officials said the Jamtara civil surgeon and other doctors of the district panicked after the incident. Rattled by the incident, the JHSA has called an emergent meeting at the Ranchi IMA building tomorrow along with the IMA to decide a course of action for restoring confidence among doctors.
