September 18, 2020
Santanu Sen speaks on The Homoeopathy Central Council & Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bills 2020
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Thank you, Madam.
Madam, I must start with the fact that in history, I have seen that there was only one Dhritarashtra and one Gandhari who were sufficient enough to ruin the gurukul, but nowadays we are seeing that in every aspect, this government is absolutely of un-democracy and for privatisation, and is thus spoiling the entire health system by ruining the ancient systems of medicine. Everywhere it is putting seven Gandharis. I must not say that our Honourable Health Minister, who belongs to our own profession, is the Dhritarashtra. But I am sure that Dhritarashtra is sitting somewhere else and giving the signals to ruin the entire health of the country.
I think I am a fool because till date, I am expecting something good from this government, the leaders of which say that you don’t need to take any medicine to fight COVID-19 because Bhabiji’s Papad will give you the cure and cow’s urine is usually the remedy. What more can be expected from such a government?
This government is in a mood to ruin all the ancient systems of medicine and to promote quackery, which is obvious, given that in the National Education Policy 2020 it is clearly mentioned that after 2030 there will be no existence of any individual system of medicine in the country, which the Indian Medical Association has been opposing from the beginning.
Madam, as far as the issue of homoeopathy is concerned, I must let you know everywhere this government is in a mood to dissolve the elected body. For homoeopathy, there was the Homoeopathy Council which was an elected body and which was running the system very smoothly. It has formed nearly 285 colleges. Unfortunately, when it was running democratically, having 50 different representatives from different parts of the country, from different states, the government simply dissolved this elected body and formed a board of governors comprising seven members—seven Gandharis.
The homoeopathic system is very popular in Bengal but there is not a single representative from Bengal in this new body. Unfortunately, since this board of governors was formed—initially it was formed for one year, 2018 to 2019—it miserably failed to function. It did not inspect the medical colleges, and it could not provide an adequate number of teachers. Yet it again asked for extension, from 2019 to 2020. Therefore, by indirectly admitting to its failure, it is once again asking for another one year’s extension. There were no elections in the recent past, there was no transparency. It could not make any progress.
In Bengal, we have a National Institute of Homoeopathy. It is in such a miserable condition that it’s quite unbelievable. It doesn’t have enough teachers, it is running a paediatric course without any specialist doctors. Yet, the government is saying in this proposed Bill that to give an appointment to the post of a lecturer, a candidate must be a postgraduate. I must let you know, Madam, that there are many disciplines in homoeopathy, like anatomy, gynaecology, pathology, community medicine, surgery, FMT etc, but there is no specialisation. So how is the government going to appoint lecturers if it insists on postgraduation?
The government is indirectly promoting quackery. It is saying that those who have an experience in practising homoeopathy for the last five years will get registered. It is also indirectly promoting private medical colleges. In so many places private medical colleges are mushrooming, especially in the State of Gujarat.
If I come to the IMCC Ordinance, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has been formed through a gazette notification but has not yet started functioning. What is the use of Indian Medical Council once the National Medical Commission has been formed? I am a member of the National Medical Commission from Bengal, but since its formation, I have never been called to a meeting. No meeting has ever taken place. There is only a chairman sitting there, appointed from AIIMS. He is doing nothing. Yet once again, the board of governors is asking for its extension, again the question of seven Gandharis comes up.
Madam, I must let you know that this board of governors is simply a parasite feeding on the public exchequer. The governors are simply enjoying their power, doing nothing. Since the National Medical Commission has been formed, I think there is no use for this board of governors because practically it is doing nothing. No extension is needed. The board of governors is not functioning. My submission before the Honourable Health Minister is that we need to know, and we have the right to know, why the NMC, despite getting gazette notification, has not been implemented properly.
My final submission is before the Dhritarashtra, who is sitting somewhere else and sending his instructions through the Honourable Health Minister: conduct politics, no problem, play the religious card as you do, no problem, speak up during the pandemic, no problem, but please do not play with the health of the country, please do not play with the health of the country, please do not play with the health of the country.
Thank you.
