Initiate democratic election process for MCI: IMA

Updated on: Thursday, May 19, 2011

The one-year extension given to the Board of Governors, which was constituted to take over the regulatory responsibilities of now-dissolved Medical Council of India (MCI), has caused displeasure among members of Indian Medical Association (IMA).

"When government dissolved the MCI and replaced it with Board of Governors, it promised to reconstitute the Council in one year. But now they have just replaced the old set of Governors with new ones," IMA national president Dr Vinay Aggarwal told reporters here.

The association termed the selection process of MCI members as "arbitrary".

"MCI in its original form had 165 members which represented medical practitioners from all over the country but now it has only five members," Aggrawal said. "It is important to have a democratically elected MCI so as to maintain the autonomy of council," he said.

Claiming that MCI in its present form is not representative of the medical community, IMA Secretary General Dr D R Rai said it demands restoration of the "democratic nature" of the Council.

The Board of Governors was formed after a crisis-hit MCI, when its president Ketan Desai was arrested on April 22 last year by the CBI for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs two crore to give recognition to a medical college in Punjab even though it did not meet the MCI standards. On May 11 this year, the tenure of board was extended for another year.

The Board was reconstituted on May 13 with eminent medic K K Talwar being nominated as the new chairperson and four fresh members inducted in the panel.

The MCI, a statutory body, tasked to oversee the standards of medical education in India, grants recognition to medical degrees, gives accreditation to medical colleges, registers medical practitioners and monitors medical practice in the country.

Initiate democratic election process for MCI: IMA

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