MP To Offer MBBS In Hindi: Doctors can write 'Shri Hari' on prescription slip, jokes CM Shivraj Chouhan

BHOPAL: On the eve of Union minister Amit Shah launching the Madhya Pradesh government's ambitious project to impart medical education in Hindi, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said many students drop out of medical colleges as they don't know English. In a lighter vein, he remarked that doctors may write 'Shri Hari' on the top of prescription slips and then write the list of medicines etc in Hindi.

The chief minister said Madhya Pradesh will become the first state in the country to impart medical education in Hindi. Shah will unveil Hindi textbooks of the medical education syllabus in MP during a programme at Motilal Nehru Stadium on Sunday.

Addressing a programme to sensitize people about the innovative step, Chouhan said, "Even the poorest person in a village feels, even after selling assets, children should be educated in English medium schools." Claiming he saw a student drop out of medical college as he did not know English, the CM said elders must change their children's mentality towards Hindi and make them feel proud of the language so that they accept it easily. A new era is starting from Bhopal, he said in a reference to the move to impart medical education in the state in Hindi.

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"Every village needs a doctor. What is the problem? They will write prescriptions in Hindi. If they have to write medicine 'crocin' then they will write it in Hindi after writing 'Shri Hari' on top of the prescription," he said in a lighter vein amid laughter from the crowd. Madhya Pradesh is going to become the first state in the country that will impart medical education in Hindi, Chouhan said and added that it is a programme to establish pride in one's mother tongue and a landmark event to change the mindset of people.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress mocked preparations for Sunday's event claiming students were being forced to attend it. "If Amit Shah is a mass leader, what is the need for the state government to issue orders to educational institutions to send their students for the programme? Students are being forced and threatened with consequences, including withholding the semester if they fail to attend the programme," state Congress media department chairperson KK Mishra alleged.

Hitting back, state BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said the Congress must introspect its functioning. "MP is going to be the first state in the country to teach (medicine) in Hindi. This is a big achievement. No institute or students have been forced (to attend the programme). They are cordially invited to attend this programme as it is directly connected with them," Chaturvedi said.