Bill to extend tenure of MCI Board of Governors slammed in LS

Participating in a debate on a bill seeking to extension of MCI's term, both ruling and opposition members described the Government's move as "undemocratic" and demanded that the body should be constituted by electing members through democratic ways.

Attacking the Government, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar (Trinamool Congress) said she was not in favour of the bill moved by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad seeking to extend the tenure of the board from the present two years to three years and supersede the amendment moved last year.

"It is sorry to say that there is no democratic way of functioning. It is a shame that the health system of country is in a shambles," she said about the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2012.

She also criticised the Government's proposal to set up a National Commission for Human Resources for Health as an overarching regulatory body which could subsume councils like the MCI and the Dental Council of India in it saying "this kind of overarching body is not acceptable".

The Indian Medical Council Act was amended after the body was dissolved in 2010 following arrest of its then president Ketan Desai by the CBI on charges of corruption.

The House also witnessed heated exchange between Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP) and Azad with the former alleging that the Minister has been misleading the House by seeking to take credit of achievements even during UPA-I.

Azad shot back saying the first UPA Government was also led by Congress and since he is a member of the ruling party there was nothing wrong in claiming credit of things done by the party-led government. (MORE)