Several celebrities, including comedian Kunal Kamra, actor-comedian Vir Das, actor Richa Chadha, filmmaker and author Vinod Kapri, satirist Akash Banerjee, and cartoonist Manjool, have expressed concern on social media about the police brutality at the ongoing resident doctors’ protest in Delhi.
Tuesday marked the 12th day of the agitation called by the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association India (FORDA) to expedite the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) post-graduation Counselling 2021 for medical studies.
The examination that was scheduled to be held in December 2020, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and was finally held in September 2021. However, following the results, the admission process and the allocation of colleges for both under-graduate as well as PG students have been stuck due to a legal tussle over the EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) quota. The Supreme Court is reviewing the matter, which is scheduled to be heard on January 6, 2022.
Junior doctors have come out in protest claiming that the delay in the counselling process is unacceptable and have also threatened a complete shutdown of medical services if fresh doctors are not brought in.
Beginning with a call for “withdrawal of all routine services” by resident doctors across the country on December 4, the protesting doctors subsequently took to the streets on December 17.
As per FORDA, around 2500 resident doctors were detained at the Sarojini Nagar police station, on Monday, as they were marching towards the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Earlier in the day, protesting resident doctors were marching towards the Supreme Court when they were halted, pushed and dragged by the police.
Condemning the brutal act and demanding the immediate release of the doctors, FORDA has declared a complete shutdown of healthcare institutions.
However, the police has denied using excessive force on the protesting doctors and said that they were detained because they had assembled illegally. “Everyone was released later and no case was filed against anyone,” police officer PS Yadav told NDTV.
The incident has been met with concern from several celebrities, who took to social media to express this and voice their support for the doctors.
Comedian Vir Das tweeted, “To our Doctors, You have done a greater service to this nation, and are more patriotic than any leader or citizen. You deserve respect, gratitude, support, and to be heard.”
Filmmaker, author and journalist Kapri, who wrote 1232km The Long Journey Home (a book on the migrant labourers who walked home during the first lockdown in 2020), has been tweeting updates on the ongoing protest. “Police is beating doctors but Modi media does not have the courage to ask questions to the government,” he wrote.
“Historical movement of doctors after farmers. You will be surprised to know that the health minister of Narendra Modi, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, has not even met him for 7 days. But take it in writing – this time again the ego of the government will be broken, it will definitely be broken,” he tweeted on Monday.
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“Somebody has given knowledge to Narendra Modi that the third wave of corona can be fought by beating doctors,” he further tweeted on Wednesday.
Comedian Kamra, who has been facing contempt of court charges for allegedly cracking jokes on the Supreme court, wrote, “Stand with the young doctors of this country who go see patients not with those doctors who sit in cabins and see papers…”
“Waiting for someone to say that beating up doctors during a pandemic is service to the nation,” tweeted Chadha.