Bhubaneswar: Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Friday squarely blamed the state government for the ongoing strike by government doctors, alleging that its failure to address their long-pending demands has pushed the state’s healthcare system into a serious crisis.
The party urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to immediately intervene, initiate dialogue with the Odisha Medical Services Association (OMSA), and resolve the impasse in the interest of patients across the state.
Addressing a press conference, senior BJD leaders and former Health Ministers Debi Prasad Mishra, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, and Pratap Jena accused the government of adopting a confrontational approach instead of engaging with the doctors over their legitimate demands.
They criticised the government’s reported warning of cancelling doctors’ registrations, withholding salaries of regular doctors and terminating contractual appointments, describing such measures as “shameful” and counterproductive.
The BJD leaders said the strike has severely disrupted healthcare services throughout Odisha, affecting outpatient (OPD) and inpatient (IPD) services, emergency medical care, treatment of admitted patients and post-mortem examinations, thereby causing immense hardship to the public.