K Chandrasekhar Hyderabad

SeveralForeign Medical Graduates (FMGs) interns were taken into police custody while protesting against the disparity in stipend payments in Telangana. After staging a silent protest for 15 days, the doctors intensified their agitation at the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) office at Koti on Thursday.

The Foreign Medical Graduates, who completed their MBBS degrees abroad, are demanding a monthly stipend of Rs 29,792, on par with other MBBS doctors in the state. They alleged that some of them were currently receiving only Rs 5,000 per month.

The doctors, who have been protesting since October 8, are also urging the government to release their pending dues. They said that despite Supreme Court orders directing the payment of a monthly stipend of Rs 29,792, the government was providing them with only Rs 5,000.

The protesting doctors raised slogans such as “Equal work, equal pay” and “We want justice”. They also alleged that when they questioned the authorities over the stipend disparity, they were threatened with the cancellation of their internships.

The doctors further alleged that while they were staging a peaceful protest, the police took them into custody and transported them to various parts of the city without informing them where they were being taken.

Meanwhile, several doctors’ associations condemned the detention of the FMGs. The Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA), Telangana, the Resident Doctors Association and the Telangana Junior Doctors Associations strongly condemned the detention of the FMG interns, who they said were peacefully protesting within the premises to press for their genuine demands.

“We demand that the police immediately release all detained FMG interns without registering any cases against them. India is a democratic country, where every citizen has the right to raise genuine concerns and seek justice through peaceful protest. Detention, intimidation, and threats must not be used to silence the legitimate voices of doctors who are fighting for their rightful demands,” the HRDA said.