Mumbai

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the state government would comply with the Bombay High Court's directions on the strike by the doctors over the issue of registration of homoeopaths.

Maintaining that it was not appropriate on the part of doctors to hold a protest, he also said the government does not have any choice in the matter and considers every doctor equally important irrespective of which system of medicine they belong to.

The HC on Thursday ordered resident doctors to immediately call off their strike against the registration of homoeopaths under the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), raising concern over the protest's impact on patients in hospitals across the state.

The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) subsequently assured the court that the strike would be called off.

The MARD launched an indefinite strike from Wednesday against the government's decision permitting homoeopaths to register under the MMC and prescribe allopathic medicines.

Speaking to reporters here, Fadnavis said the government was duty-bound to follow the High Court's directions.

"The high court has clearly told the doctors that they are receiving salaries and therefore they must attend to patients. If anything goes wrong, the doctors will be held responsible," he said.

"The orders of the high court are binding on us. Accordingly, we opened the registration process. The matter is again being heard by the high court. Instead of taking sides, we will act according to whatever directions the high court gives," he said.

Stressing that the government was neutral in the dispute, Fadnavis said, "Ultimately, the government has no choice in this matter. For us, every doctor is important. Our MBBS doctors practising allopathic medicine are doing excellent work. We will make every possible effort to comply with the high court's directions."

"I think holding a protest is not appropriate either. What is the demand? The high court had passed an order regarding the doctors' registration. Some practitioners from other systems of medicine had been included in that registry, and the doctors are protesting against those entries. Our stand is clear. If the high court directs us to maintain a separate registry, we will do so. We will act in accordance with whatever the court directs," he said.

Fadnavis said the high court should be respected and everyone should act according to its directions.

The state government will also act as directed by the court, the CM said.

"As far as we are concerned, all doctors are equal, irrespective of which system of medicine they belong to. We do not discriminate among them. In particular, the doctors working in our medical colleges and hospitals are very important to us. I would also like to tell them that the government has no intention of doing any injustice to them. Let us all wait for the court's decision," he said.

Asked about allegations by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange over cancellation of Kunbi certificates, Fadnavis said the caste scrutiny committees functioned independently under the Supreme Court's guidelines.

"The committee is working under the directions of the Supreme Court. The state government has absolutely no interference in its work," he said.

He said he was not aware of the exact number of certificates cancelled, but many applications were rejected because supporting documents were incomplete.

"Many applications, including those for OBC certificates, are rejected due to incomplete documentation. In some places, the rejection rate is around 10 per cent and in some areas it goes up to 25 per cent. It would not be correct to say that applications are rejected arbitrarily," he said.

Fadnavis said anyone aggrieved had the right to appeal.

"There is a provision for appeal. If anyone feels injustice has been done, they can appeal. Even certificates of BJP corporators and Zilla Parishad members have been cancelled. There is no political interference. This is a quasi-judicial process being carried out as per the Supreme Court's directions," he said.

Fadnavis said the new Prime focus studio project at film city here reflected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making India a global creative hub.

"Last year, an agreement was signed with Prime Focus under which Rs 3,000 crore will be invested to create a world-class studio and facility. Today, I have come to inaugurate the first phase. The Prime Minister's vision is now taking shape here. This has become a global centre for the creative economy," he said.

Referring to filmmaker Namit Malhotra's upcoming film "Ramayana", Fadnavis said, "Almost all the work on "Ramayana", one of the world's most advanced films, has been done at this facility. This is a major boost to the creators' economy."

Replying to a question on competition from other states, the chief minister dismissed concerns that Mumbai's film industry could shift elsewhere.

"Just as another Mumbai cannot be created, the film ecosystem that exists here cannot be replicated elsewhere on the same scale. It is wrong to think that the ecosystem will move out of Mumbai. That is not going to happen," he said.

Fadnavis said the state was undertaking a complete redevelopment of Film City.

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"Today, we inaugurated the country's most modern studio. We are building several such studios and creating one of the world's most advanced filmmaking ecosystems in Film City," he said.