Karunanidhi wants caste quotas in contractual appointments of doctors and administrators for the new super-speciality hospital

by Rishi Sat Jan 04, 2014 5:05 pm

DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and PMK founder S Ramadoss have issued statements condemning a State Government announcement that reservation will not apply to contractual appointments of doctors and administrators for the new super-speciality hospital at the Omandurar Government Estate here.

Both leaders claimed that the announcement would sound the death knell to the policy of reservation in the State.

Karunanidhi and Ramadoss threatened to take their respective parties to the streets to protest the decision of the government and accused the government of trying to subvert the entire policy of reservation.

Karunanidhi said that the salary fixed for the Director of the super-speciality hospital was very high. “The director of the hospital is to be paid ` 2.5 lakh per month. I don’t know if the Chief Secretary or even the Chief Minister and Ministers earn that much,” he said. “Such appointments strike at the very root of reservation, which is the cornerstone of Dravidian politics. The DMK will not hesitate to take to the streets in protest if this goes through,” he added.

Ramadoss said the salaries announced for the new appointments at the super-speciality hospital were three times the salaries of corresponding positions at other government hospitals and medical colleges. He said this lack of parity would breed resentment among other staff.

He accused the government of making repeated attempts to undermine reservations. “First, the State government weakened reservation in the recruitment of teachers. Now, it is doing so with healthcare. That there is no guarantee that it will not extend this to education and government jobs causes fear,” said Ramadoss.

Both Karunanidhi and Ramadoss demanded that the State government go through the same channels for the recruitment of doctors and staff, that is followed at other government hospitals.

VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan too urged the State government to reconsider its decision to exempt the appointment of specialist doctors for the new multi-speciality hospital from reservation. Like Karunanidhi and Ramadoss, he too attacked the decision as one that stood at odds with the ideas of social justice. He said the government must pay heed to history and reverse the order, if it didn’t want to face the wrath of the people in future elections.