More than 50,000 doctors in Karnataka went on a strike on Friday in protest of the new medical bill. This incident left the private hospitals of Karnataka non-functional. The doctors in the state are demanding the rollback of Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Bill 2017, which seeks uniformity in rates, transparency and accountability. Private medical hospitals are against the act. Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called the protest but it is also supported by a lot of medical associations led by private doctors.

The doctors are demanding the Karnataka state government to consider the recommendations made by the committee headed by former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Vikramajit Sen. Dr B S Ajaikumar, president, Association of Healthcare Providers India, told Times Now, “The state government is propagating such a derogatory bill only to pull in votes.” The amendment empowers the government to fix prices of medical services and prescribing punishment, including imprisonment, for doctors in case of irregularities in the pricing matters.

“Nearly 50,000 private doctors from across Karnataka will abstain from their duties on Friday against the amendments proposed to Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) Bill 2017,” the President of the Karnataka chapter of the Indian Medical Association Dr.H.N. Ravindra said.

“If the government sets up a law this way, doctors are going to be extremely wary of taking up risky cases, as the bill even proposes imprisoning the doctors for up to three years and imposing a fine of Rs 5 lakh,” Ravindra added.

With the Medical Council of India already laying down rules for the doctors and prohibiting them from practicing in case of any errors while treating a patient, the doctors’ associations in the state have been against setting up another committee.

“Private hospitals are being treated as commercial entities by the state — the electricity charges, water charges, everything we pay is at commercial rates and not subsidised, unlike in government hospitals. How can the state government, in such case, regulate costs in private hospitals?” Ravindra questioned.

(With input from agencies)