AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam on Tuesday demanded that A. Rathinavel, who had been put on “vacancy reserve” over the medical oath row, be reinstated as the Dean of Madurai Medical College.
In a statement, he said there were no clear guidelines from the State government on the conduct of the White Coat Ceremony; the students of the Madurai college did not obtain permission for taking the Maharshi Charak Shapath instead of the traditional Hippocratic Oath; and no action was taken [against any official of medical colleges] when the new oath was administered in other colleges.
Mr. Panneerselvam recalled that after the National Medical Commission (NMC) recommended that Maharshi Charak Shapath should replace the Hippocratic Oath in a new curriculum for MBBS courses, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya clarified in Parliament that Charak Shapath would be optional and would not be forced upon medical students. The office-bearers of the students’ council of the Madurai college had also made it clear that none of the officials of the college were aware of their action. The Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association, too, had demanded the reinstatement of Dr. Rathinavel as the Dean.
Under the circumstances, the government’s action against Dr. Rathinavel was unacceptable, the AIADMK leader said.
