New Delhi: The one-year extension given to the
Board of Governors, which was constituted to take over the
regulatory responsibilities of now-dissolved Medical Council
of India (MCI), has caused displeasure among members of Indian
Medical Association (IMA).
"When government dissolved the MCI and replaced it with
Board of Governors, it promised to reconstitute the Council in
one year. But now they have just replaced the old set of
Governors with new ones," IMA national president Dr Vinay
Aggarwal told reporters here today.
The association termed the selection process of MCI
members as "arbitrary".
"MCI in its original form had 165 members which
represented medical practitioners from all over the country
but now it has only five members," Aggrawal said. "It is
important to have a democratically elected MCI so as to
maintain the autonomy of council," he said.
Claiming that MCI in its present form is not representative
of the medical community, IMA Secretary General Dr D R Rai
said it demands restoration of the "democratic nature" of the
Council.
The Board of Governors was formed after a crisis-hit MCI,
when its president Ketan Desai was arrested on April 22 last
year by the CBI for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs two crore
to give recognition to a medical college in Punjab even though
it did not meet the MCI standards. On May 11 this year, the
tenure of board was extended for another year.
The Board was reconstituted on May 13 with eminent medic
K K Talwar being nominated as the new chairperson and four
fresh members inducted in the panel.
The MCI, a statutory body, tasked to oversee the standards
of medical education in India, grants recognition to medical
degrees, gives accreditation to medical colleges, registers
medical practitioners and monitors medical practice in the
country.
PTI
