Doctors in Jaipur on Monday staged a protest against the Rajasthan government’s proposed Right to Health Bill. The police tried to stop the protesters who came in large numbers to lay siege to the state Assembly, failing which they resorted to lathi charge.

The doctors alleged that their clothes were torn apart by the police, who also reportedly misbehaved with women medics.

On Monday, more than 2,400 private hospital operators across the state took to the streets. First, doctors and hospital administrators gathered at the auditorium of the Jaipur Medical Association in SMS Hospital, where they put forward their reservations against the proposed Bill. The doctors left the SMS Hospital at around 12 noon and reached Statue Circle in front of the Central Park.

However, the police stopped the agitators near the Statue Circle at around 1 p.m., leading to a scuffle between the two sides.

The police said that the protesters had turned violent, while the doctors alleged that the police clashed with them.

The Joint Action Committee, which had earlier supported the Bill a few days ago, had also joined the protest on Monday. The committee was formed by the doctors’ unions.

The agitators alleged that the suggestions put forward by them have not been included in the Bill.

The Right to Health Bill seeks to give the residents of Rajasthan the right to avail free treatment at hospitals, clinics and laboratories, including private establishments.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)