IMA says false after minister claims Maharashtra striking docs going back to work

After Maharashtra's education ministerGirish Mahajan claimed Wednesday that the state's striking doctors had agreed to get back to work, the Indian Medical Association dismissed the reports as "false" and "misguiding".

Absolutely false and misguiding,doctors have not taken their strike back, we are supporting strike completely:Dr Parthiv Sanghvi,IMA to ANI

The state's education minister earlier said the doctors -- who had gone on strike after two of their colleagues were assaulted -- agreed to go back to work after meeting with him.

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Mahajan had earlier on Wednesday warned the junior doctors to return to work at the earliest, saying that if they did not do so and continued with their protest, six months of their salary would be deducted.

ANI meanwhile reported that the dean of Government Medical College, Nagpur had suspended301 resident doctors,

And that Mumbai's JJ Hospital had decided to initiate the expulsions of doctors on strike.

More than a thousand doctors in Maharashtra have been protesting since Monday, demanding better security at hospitals in the wak of attacks on them by patients' relatives.

The Bombay High Court had yesterday ordered Maharashtra's resident doctors to resume work immediately or face action by hospital managements. It had specifically said hospital management is free to initiate action and contempt proceedings against doctors on strike.

While asking them to resume their duties immediately, the court said yesterday said that it will hear the junior doctors' mass leave issue today.

The state government has told the court that medical services in Maharashtra were paralysed because 60 per cent of the resident doctors across the state went on strike.

The High Court, which was to hear the junior doctors' mass leave issue today, has deferred the case till tomorrow, ANI reported. The court said it couldn't hear the issue today because of unavailability of the Chief Justice's bench.

According to media reports, about 4,000 resident doctors are on strike across Maharashtra (WION)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday urged the doctors in Mumbai, who have been on strike in protest against attacks on two doctors last week, to resume office saying "duty towards mankind is far more important than self".

"It (strike) could be for a genuine cause but I think that holding up an entire hospital and a state is most unfortunate. There are patients which came from various places of Maharashtra. We must be more sympathetic towards them and I hope the doctors will understand that there is duty towards mankind which is far more important than self," BJP leader Shaina NC told ANI.

The court has directed the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) to ask all doctors to resume their duties.

(WION with inputs from ANI)