The high level committee of the Tamil Nadu branch of the Indian Siddha Medical Graduates Association (ISMGA) has decided not to contest the forthcoming election to the Indian Medical Practitioners’ Cooperative Pharmacy & Stores Ltd (Impcops), the multi-state co-operative society of Siddha doctors based in Chennai.

The Association has taken this crucial decision because of a variety of reasons, but prominent among them is due to the presence of fake Siddha doctors in the voters’ list, said Dr Selvin Innocent Dhas, president of ISMGA.

He said his Association demands verification of voters’ roll in total to check  whether any fake member has included in the list. He alleged that more than hundred members recently removed by Impcops from the registry, on the advice of Siddha Medical Council, have been continuing there for the last several years, which is alarming. He further said ISMGA has lodged a complaint with the deputy commissioner of police at Adyar regarding the enrolment of fake Siddha doctors with the society.

Meanwhile in a letter to Pharmabiz, Dr M K Thyagarajan, the secretary of Impcops said 115 members whose registration certificates were declared by Tamil Nadu Siddha Medical Council as not genuine and false, were removed from the primary membership of Impcops. He claimed that the multi state co-cop society was following a very transparent procedure in admitting the members. He said Impcops will not allow bogus and illegitimate medical practitioners to get included in their membership list, and as on date there is no such member in the roll.

“From the year 2009 onwards, all the medical registration certificates received from doctors have been referred to Tamil Nadu Siddha Medical Council for verification and then only we admit them as members in our Society. Similarly the medical registration certificates of 151 members who were admitted during the period from 2007 to 2009 were also referred to the Council, and on their recommendation, we have removed 115 members,” his letter says.

The secretary of Impcops clarified that the Society has wanted the Registrar of Tamil Nadu Siddha Medical Council to take criminal action against the 115 false certificate holders. He condemned the allegation of ISMGA that Impcops was enrolling fake members to ensure victory in the forth coming general election scheduled for July this year. He said since there is no bogus member in the list as on date, there is no need for a special general meeting to discuss the issue.

“We have kept the thoroughly revised, updated and corrected version of the members’ roll in all our sales depots for scrutiny and updation. So such call for an emergency meeting is totally uncalled for and unwanted,” Dr Thyagarajan said in his letter to Pharmabiz.