Dismissal of NDA’s PIL justice to Naga people: TM Lotha
DIMAPUR, DEC 21 (MExN): The Guwahati High Court yesterday dismissed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Nagaland Doctor’s Association (NDA) against the Government of Nagaland challenging the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the latter and the Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) in regard to the Referral Hospital.
The PIL it may be mentioned was filed in the month of June, 2005 following the dissatisfaction expressed by the NDA over the manner in which the government signed the MoU with the EHA on January 25, 2005 and also the additional MoU signed on May 25, 2005 with CMC Vellore.
Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr TM Lotha today said that the dismissal of the NDA’s PIL by the Guwahati High Court yesterday is a justice given to not only the State Government but also to the people of Nagaland. When contacted, Dr P Ngully, President NDA on his part pointed out that justice has been denied and said that the NDA would meet soon to take the next course of action.
“From the very beginning, the State Government has been clearly explaining its intention of having their own Medical College and Nursing College in the State that the people of Nagaland could not have in the last 42 years of Statehood,” a release issued by the Minister stated.
Striking a blow to the fraternity of doctors, the minister said that when the Government was gaining its impetus with the massive support of various mass-based Naga NGOs like the Naga Hoho, NBCC, NMA, etc., some members of the “NDA with their ulterior motives and business interests went to the Guwahati High Court and filed a PIL to sabotage the Government’s plan.”
Registering shock over the support garnered to the NDA by the Nagaland Medicine Dealers Association, the deputy leader of the BJP said, “Instead of raising their voice against such nefarious designs of the NDA, the Nagaland Medicine Dealers Association had openly filed counter-affidavit in support of the saboteur move of the NDA, thereby the people of Nagaland have been made to undergo untold miseries and hardships for the last six months as they had to go to various cities of the country for treatment with huge expenditures.”
Clarifying on why the “Dimapur Referral Hospital” was renamed “Christian Institute of Health Science and Research” he said the naming of an Institution with “Christian word” does not mean it is against the principle of secularism and at the same time, it is nothing wrong using “Christian” for such an Institution in a State where 96% per cent of the population is Christian.
“They (NDA) might have also forgotten that Nagaland, in spite of being Christian State, is perhaps the only State in the country not having any class system.
It is very unfortunate that these few vested interests have even stooped so low trying to communalize by dragging “Christianity” to send wrong message to outside the State,” the legislator said.
The minister further appealed to all, especially mass-based Naga NGOs, who have been consistently praying to have a Referral Hospital, Medical College and Nursing College in the State, to continue to pray so that the dream of having “our own Referral Hospital, Medical College and Nursing College after 42 years of Statehood will come to a reality.”
