Shashi Tharoor demands law to check incidents of violence against healthcare professionals

Tharoor also noted that the govt had introduced a bill in Parliament in 2019 to put a check on violence against healthcare professionals, which was withdrawn later

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor speaks in the Lok Sabha during Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Monday, February 13, 2023. Credit: PTI Photo

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday demanded comprehensive legislation to put a check on violence against healthcare professionals.

Making a special mention in the Lok Sabha, he said the government had introduced a bill to protect doctors facing physical abuse from relatives of patients, and stressed the need for a stringent law to prevent such incidents.

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He said 75 per cent of all doctors have faced physical abuse of some kind and that the existing laws to deal with such incidents were weak.

Tharoor noted that the government had introduced a bill in Parliament in 2019 to put a check on violence against healthcare professionals, but was withdrawn later.

NRC, immigration among other matters raised in Lok Sabha

BJP member Nishikant Dubey demanded the implementation of the National Register of Citizens in his Godda constituency in Jharkhand, where the population of those belonging to the Santhal community was on the decline.

He said the number of Bangladeshi migrants was on the rise in six districts of his constituency.

He also wanted the government to withdraw benefits applicable to tribal community members if they convert to other religions.

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Congress member V K Sreekandan demanded the introduction of the Vande Bharat train between Bengaluru and Kozhikode via Palakkad and Shoranur for the benefit of the increased number of passengers travelling between the two cities.

BJP member Tirath Singh Rawat demanded a masterplan for Joshimath, which witnessed incidents of land subsidence recently. He said the situation was normal in large parts of Joshimath, which is the gateway to Badrinath, the skiing village of Auli, and to the Indo-Tibetan border.

Rawat, the former chief minister of Uttarakhand, said 25-30 per cent area of Joshimath was affected by land subsidence, and life was normal in other parts of the Himalayan town.

BJP member Arun Sao demanded an independent investigation into the killings of four BJP office-bearers in Chhattisgarh in the past month.

Sao, who represents the Bilaspur parliamentary seat, alleged a political conspiracy against BJP leaders, the security of whom was withdrawn by the Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh.