Produce trained doctors, not Munna Bhai MBBS: Dharmendra Pradhan

Bhubaneswar:  Odisha Government should focus on quality medical education for producing trained doctors, not ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’, said Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in his reaction to the ongoing political tug of war over Baripada Medical College.

Both BJD and BJP are now vying with each other to take credit for the permission accorded to the institute by the Supreme Court’s Oversight Mandate Committee for admissions to this academic session.

It seems that the war of words between the two parties has now intensified after Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made an unscheduled visit to take stock of the infrastructure and ongoing construction work at Baripada Medical College yesterday.

Also Read: Baripada Medical College gets SC panel nod for admissions

The SC panel had earlier accorded conditional permission for intake of 100 MBBS students from this academic session after Odisha Government had sought intervention against the delay done by Medical Council of India (MCI).

Earlier, uncertainty  loomed large over the admissions owing to non-issuance of Letter of Permission (LoP).

“If Odisha Government is happy playing politics on the issue, it is welcome. But they should fulfil all criteria and keep documents ready as a medical college cannot open through ‘short cuts’,” said Pradhan.

Odisha had earlier sought LoP for two medical colleges—Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College, Baripada and Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital, Koraput in June 2016.

The MCI team had subsequently taken stock of infrastructure, construction works and other facilities at both the upcoming medical colleges in December last year. Though the MCI team visited Koraput, the scheduled visit for inspection of infrastructure at Baripada Medical was not taken up.

Odisha Health Minister Pratap Jena, on the other hand, alleged that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is ‘jealous’ as the state government got the permission after concerted efforts from the Supreme Court’s panel.

“Union Minister’s move to draw comparison between Baripada Medical College and Private College is not justified,” said Jena.