PG medical students join black-day protest against Baba Ramdev

Postgraduate students of medicine and all doctors from across the country, will be holding a “nation-wide black day protest” on Tuesday, June 1 against Baba Ramdev’s remarks opposing modern medicine, ‘allopathy’ and vaccination — all critical measures against fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. MBBS graduates on their year-long compulsory internship on COVID duty are joining the protest as well and will wear black arm-bands to work tomorrow.

The doctors are responding to the protest call of Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) which is supporting the doctors’ body, the India Medical Association.

A FORDA statement said since the doctors all across the country are engaged in COVID-care, the association has asked them to wear black bands while on duty. “We shall hold a nation-wide black day protest on June 1, 2021 without hampering our patient care to voice our protest against the illogical, unscientific, demeaning and derogatory statements of Mr Ram Kisan Yadav against corona warriors and modern medicine. We demand an unconditional open public apology from Ram Kisan Yadav or action against him under the relevant section of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897,” said a statement from FORDA.

A statement from the Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors, said, “On 1st of June 2021, our residents posted in various COVID and essential nonCOVID workstations shall work with black coloured bands to register their protest. We shall also change our whatsapp/Facebook/other social media display picture/status to black colour.”

Doctors Association, Kashmir, will also be joining the black day protest on Tuesday. Its president, M Y Tak, said: “ Baba Ramdev’s comment wherein he says thousands of doctors have died even after getting double doses of vaccines, what kind of doctors are they if they could not save themselves, has hurt the entire medical fraternity of this country.”

Resident doctors association from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital Delhi and Safdarjung hospital Delhi have also issued similar statements.