New Delhi:Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a delegation of doctors and medical students on Friday that they must not worry about opportunities as the higher education system is set for a massive expansion.
"The Prime Minister assured them (medicos) that the roadmap laid down in the decision of the UPA Coordination Committee addressed the concerns of all categories of students," his Media Advisor Sanjaya Baru told reporters in New Delhi.
He was briefing reporters about the details of the hour-long meeting Prime Minister had with 10 representatives of Delhi medical students and resident doctors, who have been on a fortnight-long strike against the reservation policy.
AIIMS Director P Venugopal, Health Secretary PC Hota, Principal Advisor to Prime Minister TKA Nair were at the PM’s meeting with the 10-member medicos’ delegation.
"Dr Singh gave us a patient hearing. We have to go back to our people and talk things over with them about," said AIIMS RDA member Dr Jitender Kumar.
"The expansion would see a huge growth in the educational opportunities available to all classes and categories of students," Singh told the delegation
Singh said technical experts groups being set up under the Oversight Committee will examine how capacities can be expanded.
A delegation of medical students met President APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday. No solution came out of the meeting but students said they are keeping communication channels open.
Students said that they were not “totally” against reservation but opposed it on the basis of caste. The agitating medicos had a late night meeting with Union Minister Oscar Fernandes on "specific demands" of setting up an experts' panel to review the existing reservation policy.
"We are not totally against reservation but want it for economically-backward sections of the society and not on caste basis," Dr Sasmit Sarangi, a representative of Youth for Equality organization.
Traders’ unions, Resident Welfare Associations, chemists' organisations, a section of the medical faculty and fraternity have declared their support for the anti-quota agitation.
Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have appealed to the students to call off their hunger strike and assured them of increasing the number of seats for the general category in proportion to the OBC quotas.
Students plan a Delhi Aao, Desh Bacho rally at the Ramlila Grounds on Saturday to press for their demands. Students hinted at meeting the Prime Minister after the Saturday rally.
With the resident doctors on strike, healthcare services in Government-run hospitals were affected for the 15th day on Friday.
The rally, which will be held at the Ramlila Ground from 1630 hrs (IST), will be attended by anti-reservation activists from across the country.
''We are expecting activists from across the country at the rally here tomorrow and we are hopeful that the turnout will be very good. This agitation will not fizzle out,'' AIIMS RDA President and Youth for Equality leader Binod Patra said.
He said the rally will be a show of strength and a message to the government that the agitation will not be withdrawn.
''We are severely disappointed with the way the government has ignored our demands but that will not deter us we will go on,'' he said.
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