Govt. will take final call on KPME Bill today: Minister

Bengaluru: Health Minister K.R. Ramesh Kumar assured the Legislative Assembly this morning that the Govt. will arrive at a final decision by today evening on the controversial Karnataka Private Establishments (KPME) (Amendment) Bill, which doctors across the State are vehemently protesting. “I’m meeting the Chief Minister this evening to find a solution,” Kumar said, in response to the opposition BJP highlighting deaths of patients across the State due to the shut down of outpatient services. Kumar strongly defended the Bill and maintained it was in the interest of patients, especially the poor. “We are not against doctors, the medical profession or medical institutions,” Kumar said. “No one is highlighting the death of patients when they can’t afford treatment. But deaths of patients due to doctors’ protest is all over the news,” he rued.