The Delhi Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution recommending the Bharat Ratna to the doctors of the country collectively. The resolution also recommended that the city government nominate only the names of doctors and paramedical staff for the Padma awards.
The opposition BJP supported the motion but demanded that other ‘corona (COVID) warriors’ such as sanitation workers, teachers and policemen be nominated for the award.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj moved the resolution on the second and last day of the monsoon session.
Speaking on this, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that doctors served patients when their own families did not want to touch them.
“The Delhi government has decided that we will only recommend the names of doctors and paramedical staff for Padma awards. We have to recommend these names by September 15,” he said.
Kejriwal said the city government had made an announcement in this regard on July 27 and it has received 2,100 nominations so far.
“We urge the Center to confer Padma awards on all such doctors across the country and we also demand that Bharat Ratna be given to Indian doctors collectively,” the Chief Minister said.
Kejriwal said ‘Indian doctor’ would be a collective term for all doctors, paramedics, nurses, ward boys and other medical staff, who served the people during the pandemic.
He said, “Our doctors and paramedical staff put their lives at stake to serve the country. Some doctors could not go to their homes for almost six months and served humanity without caring for their families and themselves.”
The Chief Minister said that at such times it is the duty of the entire society to give full respect to the medical community.
He said, “When Covid started, we arranged for doctors to stay in five-star hotels. We had also decided that all orders related to coronavirus would be passed in consultation with doctors. We got full support from all hospitals and medical fraternity. Got it,” he said. .
The Delhi government had announced a grant of Rs 1 crore to the families of doctors who lost their lives on duty due to coronavirus and this boosted their morale. The Chief Minister said that perhaps, this is the only government in the whole world which has made such a provision.
“We have given ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore in many cases. I personally went to give this money to these families. PTI GVS
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