In a statement issued on Tuesday, committee chairman Perumal Pillai alleged that Health Minister Ma Subramaniam's statements on consensus regarding salary demands of government doctors were misleading and would deepen the existing discontent among them.

The LCC leader said that unlike other states, Tamil Nadu has not adjusted the salaries of doctors at par with that of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.

In the statement, the LCC urged the Health Minister to implement pay band four as per Government Order (G.O.) 354, which was issued during the DMK's previous tenure in 2009.

He said that in this order it has been said that the salary of state government doctors should be equal to that of central government doctors.

In the statement, Perumal Pillai criticized the DMK government's issuance of GO 194, calling it a "divisive move" and saying it was not demanded by doctors.

Perumal Pillai also said that doctors had provided huge assistance to the state government during the COVID-19 pandemic and while the Karnataka government fulfilled its obligations by recognizing the contribution of the medical staff, the Tamil Nadu government failed to do so.

Perumal Pillai also said that the Health Minister's alleged statement of resolving the salary issue through several rounds of talks is not true.

- All/Red