Medical Education minister Kondru Murali Mohan, on Wednesday, warned striking junior doctors of stern action if they do not call off their agitation immediately.
Talking to media persons at the government hospital in Kurnool, Kondru Murali Mohan accused the junior doctors of resorting to blackmail in order to get their demands approved by the state government.
However, he said, the government would not relent, and added that it would initiate stern action against them if the strike is not called off.
Stating that the government was spending nearly Rs. 60 lakh to Rs. one crore on each medical degree and post graduate student, he said that it was the responsibility of doctors to serve in rural areas as part of their internship program and to meet the shortage of doctors in those areas.
He said that the government was ready cancel dosctors' medical certificates if they are not ready to serve the mandatory one-year term in rural areas.
The minister said that the government has made alternative arrangements to meet any eventuality in hospitals, in the wake of the junior doctors' strike.
He said that apart from seeking legal course of action on striking junior doctors, the government was also considering invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), if necessary. (INN)