Sack Rane, he has habit of insulting doctors: Congress

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant should immediately sack health minister Vishwajit Rane for abusing and threatening the casualty medical officer at GMC, said Congress workers on Sunday.

Congress also demanded that Goa Police file a police complaint against Rane for threatening, abusing, and verbally attacking a doctor on duty.“We demand that the chief minister of Goa file a complaint under Section 504 against Rane. The health minister should be charged for issuing a threat to a duty doctor in charge. Rane should be sacked from all his ministerial posts, and he should be arrested and put in jail,” said Congress workers. “There is also a high court judgement that says that the ministers have no jurisdiction to issue suspension orders against a doctor,” said state Congress president Amit Patkar.Patkar further said that doctors and patients have a right to privacy in hospital wards, and ministers are not authorised to click pictures or shoot videos inside medical facilities. The GPCC chief was reacting to an incident involving Rane and a duty doctor at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC).

“If a patient has to visit GMC for a B12 injection, then it is a failure of govt,” Patkar said, adding that this incident reflects a larger problem of misgovernance in the health department.“This is not the first time that Rane has done this. He illegally suspended Dr Pradeep Naik in the past as well,” he added.Describing Rane’s behaviour as criminal, Patkar said that the minister has made it a habit of routinely targeting govt employees in various departments. Congress has given state govt a 72-hour deadline to act. “We are prepared to hit the streets,” Patkar said.