36 PGIMER Chandigarh nursing students barred from ‘outing’ for skipping PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat

NEW DELHI: As many as 36 students of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh have been grounded for skipping the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat programme on April 30. A total of 28 students from third year and eight from first year of National Institute of Nursing Education (NINE) at PGIMER have been barred from stepping outside their hostel for a week.

According to an order by PGI Chandigarh director Vivek Lal it was “compulsory” for the first and third year students to attend the programme held to air PM Modi’s 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat on April 30. Students were warned that the “outing of those students who do not attend the lecture would be cancelled” but despite a reminder in the hostel, 36 students didn’t attend the programme. PGIMER has now initiated “necessary action” against them and stopped “outing for one week”.

Dr Sukhpal Kaur, the principal of the institute told Indian Express that the action has been taken to “maintain discipline”. “Everyone in the Institute works as a team, with all sincerity and it is unfortunate that this action is being misunderstood and misinterpreted,” he was quoted as saying.

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Meanwhile, Manoj Lubana, state president of Chandigarh Indian Youth Congress (IYC), in a tweet, termed the action of PGIMER against students as a “dictatorial decision”.

He said the intention of the PGI is to punish and harass the 36 girl students and claimed that the action has been taken against the students under pressure from the administration. He warned that IYC will protest fiercely if any injustice is done to the students or their academic life in future.

तानाशाही मोदी सरकार द्वारा प्रधानमंत्री"मन की बात"ना सुनने वाले छात्राओं को चंडीगढ़ पीजीआई द्वारा नोटिस जारी कर उनकी आउटिंग बंद करादी गई और उन्हें मानसिक रूप से प्रताड़ित किया गया
भविष्य में उनके साथ या उनके शैक्षणिक जीवन के साथ कोई अन्याय किया गया तो हम भीषण विरोध प्रदर्शनकरेंगे pic.twitter.com/dnLmdKvZaU

— Manoj Lubana (mouji) (@LubanaManoj) May 10, 2023

The premiere postgraduate medical institute in Chandigarh is the second best medical institute in India after All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi in the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings, 2022 released by the Ministry of Education in July last year.

In January this year, National Medical Commission (NMC) issued a circular asking medical colleges to give wide publicity for Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC 2023), an annual programme that provides an opportunity for students to interact with PM Modi. NMC had asked colleges to make necessary arrangements for viewing the programme, against which Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) had expressed dismay.