Lok Sabha passes the Medical Council bill

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Medical Council of India (Amendment) Bill without discussion as members were busy staging protests demanding more hike in their salaries.

The MCI (Medical Council of India) bill entails reconstitution of the council within one year from the date of its replacement. Until then a board of governors will exercise the powers and perform the council's functions.

The bill states that the MCI shall stand superseded and the president, vice-president and other members shall vacate their offices without any claim for compensation.

An earlier version of the bill to amend the Medical Council of India Act was rejected by a Parliamentary Standing Committee in 2007.

Reacting strongly against the passage of the bill without discussion, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Maneka Gandhi termed it as the government's attempt to take over the powers of the council.

"The MCI is an elected body, for one person's involvement in bribery the whole body cannot be dissolved," said Gandhi, referring to former MCI head Ketan Desai who was arrested on charges of corruption.

"This is the government's attempt to take away the MCI's powers," she alleged.

Sources from the government, however, say that the bill was passed in a hurry as the time of the ordinance was lapsing.

"The ordinance is about to expire. If it had lapsed, Ketan Desai would have been back. We did not want this to happen," a source said.

"Time was allotted for discussion but the members continued agitating over salary hike," he added.

The ordinance, passed in May, would have lapsed in November, before the winter session of Parliament. Hence, it was necessary for the government to pass the bill in the ongoing monsoon session.

The MCI was dissolved on May 15 through an ordinance that established a board of governors to handle the affairs of the council for one year.

The MCI has among its functions, which include registering medical practitioners, monitoring and giving recognition to medical colleges, and giving degrees to doctors.

Even as the bill becomes an issue, the health ministry is preparing a separate bill to create the National Council for Human Resource in Health after which the MCI is likely to have only registration of doctors as its prerogative.