Doctors’ group calls for boycott of world medical meet

NEW DELHI - A group of doctors here Tuesday urged medical associations of all countries to boycott the World Medical Association’s meet until it rejects participation of the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) tained former chief Ketan Desai.

Kunal Saha, president of ‘People for Better Treatment’, has circulated a letter to all medical associations, asking them to boycott the conference scheduled in Canada Oct 13-16.

“This is an urgent call for the medical associations of different countries around the world that are also members of the WMA to boycott the conference in Vancouver unless the WMA leaders reject Ketan Desai,” Saha said in the letter.

Actively campaigning against Desai’s participation in the meet, Saha alleged that the WMA is favouring the tainted former MCI president.

He asked the members to raise their voices and stop the association from endorsing Desai, “a corrupt and criminally indicted man who has also lost his medical license and is not permitted to attend any medical conference/meeting”.

Desai, who is the president-elect of the WMA, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) April 23 on graft charges. The post of the MCI chief was then replaced by a board of governors appointed by the Indian government May 15.

Desai’s medical license has been suspended by the MCI board of governors and he has been barred from participating in any medical conference.