Gulbarga, Oct 26: Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader has reiterated that the State government is always ready to consider the genuine demands of the Karnataka Government Medical officers Association. However the government will not be cowed by their threats and blackmailing tactics, he clarified.
The Minister expressed confidence that the association would go back from their decision to submit en masse resignation on October 27 reciprocating to the gesture of the government which agreed to almost all their major demands. However, the government had initiated a series of steps to ensure that health services were not affected even if the doctors carry out their threat.
Mr. Khader said the Health Department was in touch with the Medical Education Department for lending doctors for services at primary health centres and also would not hesitate to take the services of private doctors to prevent disruption in the delivery of health services to the general public.
Asked whether the government would invoke the Essential Service Maintenance Act to prevent the en masse resignation, the Minister said, œI don't know ¦ in the event of the threat becoming a reality, we will show that there is a government in existence in the State.
Asked about the contentious issues which were preventing an amicable solution to the threat, Mr. Khader said unreasonable demands such as dropping Principal Secretary Sivasailam from the post and condoning the unauthorised absence of doctors were not acceptable to the government.
œAppointing the Health Minister and posting an official as the Principal Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department is the prerogative of the government and the Chief Minister and nobody, including the association, has any role in this or cannot dictate terms.
Mr. Khader said the association wanted the government to condone the unauthorised absence of doctors for years and take them back to service without any disciplinary proceedings.
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