Why not detect sex of foetus, then protect girl child: Indian Medical Association chief Asokan
New Delhi, Apr 30: A ban on sex determination tests through a law may stop female foeticide but female infanticide will happen, Indian Medical Association chief Dr R V Asokan has said, arguing that a social evil cannot have a medical solution.
In an interaction with PTI editors, Asokan said IMA is working on a document to revamp the existing Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act, which prohibits pre-natal diagnostic techniques for determination of the sex of the foetus and holds doctors accountable. “And one suggestion would be why not detect the sex of the foetus and then protect the girl child," he said.
"For a social evil you cannot have a medical solution. Is it workable or practical? Let us discuss that. What will happen is that if you don't correct the social evil, female foeticide will disappear, female infanticide will happen," he explained.
In Asokan’s view, the PC-PNDT Act is completely warped, short sighted and NGO driven.
"We have a stake in preventing female foeticide but we don’t agree with the methodology PC-PNDT Act has taken. The methodology has caused so much difficulty for doctors," Asokan, who is IMA’s national president, said.
"If there is one law we want to be taken out of the statute that is PC-PNDT. It doesn't deserve its place," he said.
The doctors’ body has been demanding re-envisioning of the PC-PNDT Act for quite some time.
According to Asokan, there are no differences of opinion about saving the girl child. "The common objective is one... presuming all the doctors to be culpable and anti-life is very wrong," he stressed.
The IMA, Asokan added, is aggrieved over certain rules in the act and with doctors being pulled up for technical lapses and incorrect filling of forms.
The regulations that have come up on the matter are very unfair, he said.
For instance, the regulation states that machines cannot even be moved from one room to another room. “Moreover, not filling up ‘Form F’ is considered to be equal to female foeticide,” he elaborated.
Form F under the PC-PNDT Act records the medical history of a pregnant woman and why the ultrasound is being done.
Under the present law, doctors not filling up Form F properly are given the same punishment as someone who does a sex determination test.
"An institution like the Honourable Supreme Court has said if you do not fill up Form F you are committing female foeticide. How is this acceptable?" he asked.
The IMA chief cited an instance from Coimbatore 15 days ago when a gynaecologist was convicted and sentenced for three years for not filling up Form F properly.
"The law is NGO driven, initiated by the Supreme Court of India. There is a layman perspective in the law...
"So we have been having brainstorming sessions and thinking why not detect the sex, detect the female child and then protect that child. It is possible... tag that child, see what happens to her, follow the mother and see that the girl child is delivered normally.”
Asokan lamented the fact that the entire medical profession is in the dock because of a few black sheep.
"Now I want the profession to be out of it. We are not saying that it (sex determination) should be allowed. If this is acceptable you accept it. Otherwise remove those harassment points.”
Asokan said the document they are working on will come up in the central working committee of the IMA and the idea is to “provoke a discussion even in the Supreme Court" if necessary.
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Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
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The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
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"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
