A day after he was sacked by the state government for his critical Facebook post, Dr Amit Kumar said he was terminated without being given a chance to explain.
“I was sacked for asking a question to the minister,” Dr Kumar told Greater Kashmir. “I commented on (health) minister’s post as a common man, after which his PRO threatened me”.
Dr Kumar said that the minister should have given him a chance to explain. “Within two days of my Facebook post I received a show cause notice and after two days a termination letter,” he said.
Meanwhile, junior doctors in Jammu’s state-run hospitals have threatened strike from Wednesday to protest government’s decision to terminate Dr Kumar. Condemning the decision, Resident Doctors Association (RDA) said that the Facebook comments of Dr Kumar were not meant to provoke readers or to target college administration or the government.
“The comment should not be taken as a provocation, he (Dr Amit) just stated truth,” President RDA DrSourabhKatoch told Greater Kashmir.
“Dr Kumar has submitted a letter of unconditional apology for his comments. A warning should have been issued instead of a termination letter”. DrKatoch said.
The RDA has given the government 48 hour deadline to revoke the order. “If the order is not revoked, we will be forced to strike in a phased manner,” Katoch said. “From March 21 onwards, junior doctors will not perform OPD services or routine surgical procedures in Operation Theaters. If the government remains unmoved, junior doctors will also boycott all emergency services from March 24”.