Expelled AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has called on the Tamil Nadu government to implement the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) directive to increase the pay of government doctors in the state, bringing it on par with the salaries of doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).In a statement released on Tuesday, Panneerselvam criticized the current DMK government for not adhering to the NMC’s directive, which mandates uniform pay for doctors across the country, including those at AIIMS-Delhi.
Panneerselvam highlighted that in 2009, the then-DMK government issued Government Order (GO) 354, which addressed the pay and promotion structure for government doctors. However, despite protests and an indefinite strike by doctors in 2019 demanding the implementation of this order, the promise remains unfulfilled even three years after the DMK returned to power.
He recalled that during the doctors’ strike in 2019, M.K. Stalin, who was then the Leader of the Opposition and is now the Chief Minister, assured the striking doctors that the DMK would implement the GO if they came to power. Despite these assurances, the issue remains unresolved.
