The verbal duel between the BJP and the BJD over the Baripada medical college continued with both parties vying with each other to garner brownie points over the Supreme Courts Oversight Mandate Committee’s permission to conduct admissions to the college.
It seemed that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s visit to Baripada to take stock of the construction works of the medical college on Thursday and his statement, “The medical college is a dream come true for the people of Mayurbhanj,” has intensified the slanging match between the two parties further.
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said the Odisha Government “should focus on quality medical education for producing trained doctors, not ‘Munna Bhai MBBSs’”. He said this referring to the private Hi-Tech medical college in the State.
“If the State Government is happy playing politics on the issue, it is welcome. But they should fulfil all criteria and keep documents ready as a medical college cannot open through short cuts,” said Pradhan.
Health Minister Pratap Jena, on the other hand, alleged that Pradhan is “jealous” as the State Government got the permission after concerted efforts from the Supreme Court’s panel.
“The Union Minister’s move to draw comparison between the Baripada medical college and private colleges is not justified,” said Jena.
Notably, the SC panel had earlier accorded conditional permission for intake of 100 MBBS students from this academic session after the State Government had sought intervention against the delay done by the Medical Council of India (MCI).