Medical students protest inclusion of ‘outsiders’
HT Correspondent
(New Delhi, May 9)

MEDICAL STUDENTS from Delhi colleges today cleaned the windscreens of vehicles at Delhi Gate (near ITO crossing) to protest against "the inclusion of medical graduates who have completed their graduation from states other than Delhi, for admission to post-graduate programmes in Delhi medical colleges".

Vehicle-drivers were today shocked out of their wits as the students, wearing their white coats, launched their unique protest to highlight their "sorry plight and uncertain future". The campaign today comes at the end of a series of agitation programmes conducted recently. These medical students fear that the chances of their qualifying the PG entrance exam conducted by DU (for admission to 75 per cent of the post-graduate seats in Delhi medical colleges) have received a severe blow as a result of this inclusion.

The Post-Graduate Admission Committee for Medical Sciences, Delhi University, had recently decided that "in pursuant of the judgement of the Supreme Court in the Dr Parag Gupta V/s University of Delhi" case and on the advice of the Delhi University senior counsel, a combined medical merit list would be issued that included "petitioners" who have passed their MBBS course under 15 per cent All India quota through DGMS subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions.

The plea of the "petitioners" before the Court was that they were not eligible to appear for the post-graduate medical entrance exam conducted by the Delhi University despite the fact that they hailed from Delhi.

Dr Parag Gupta, who filed the appeal pointed out that he was not even eligible to appear for the PG entrance exam conducted by Tamil Nadu despite the fact that he had completed his MBBS from there as he did not fulfil the eligibility conditions in Tamil Nadu.

However, medical students from Delhi medical colleges feel that as "only four states in India (Tamil Nadu, Assam, Goa, and Karnataka) have such domicile regulations, there is no need to permit most students who have completed his MBBS from outside Delhi to appear for the local entrance exam".

"In all states (excluding these four) such students would be able to appear for the entrance exams conducted there. Then why should they be allowed to appear from Delhi too," queried an indignant final year medical student from Maulana Azad Medical College.

The student however clarified that the medical graduates and students from Delhi medical colleges would have no objection if those medical graduates hailing from Delhi and who had completed their MBBS from the above mentioned four states were allowed to appear for the exam conducted by DU as they cannot appear for the PG entrance exams conducted by those states.

Students also stated that candidates from outside Delhi could always appear for the all-India exam (for admission to 25 per cent of the seats in Delhi Medical colleges) in addition to the exams conducted by their respective states.