NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday referred the National Medical Commission Bill, 2017, to a parliamentary standing committee for scrutiny, defusing the protests over the government bid to overhaul the Medical Council of India. The apex body of doctors had called a strike on Tuesday in protest against the bill.
However, the Lower House has asked the standing committee to submit its report in the budget session, raising the prospects of the bill being taken up for passage soon. The budget session will start around end-January or February 1. Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar told LS that government had agreed to the demand of various parties across the ruling NDA and the opposition that the bill be vetted by the standing committee.
The bill was introduced by health minister J P Nadda amid protests from members on Friday. However, minister Kumar urged Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to ask the committee to give its report before the budget session. He underlined that the bill had to be taken up at the earliest in view of the Supreme Court order.
In her brief ruling, the Speaker said that the report of the standing committee be tabled before the budget session. Though the parliamentary panels are usually given three months for the report, there has already been one report on the issue, she noted.

The Indian Medical Association called off its strike in protest against the bill on Tuesday after Parliament referred it to the standing panel.

Source : timesofindia