Hyderabad: BJP Telangana President N. Ramchander Rao on Thursday demanded equal stipends for FMG interns and condemned alleged police action against protesting Foreign Medical Graduates in Hyderabad.
He urged the Congress government to pay FMG interns Rs 29,792 per month, matching the stipend paid to local medical graduates. Additionally, he demanded payment of arrears from January 2026.
Rao raised the demands after meeting representatives of Foreign Medical Graduates at the BJP state office on November 12. He criticised the alleged police lathi-charge, manhandling of students and registration of cases against protesting graduates.
According to Rao, FMG interns had been protesting outside the Telangana Medical Council for the past 34 days over unequal stipend payments. Rao alleged that the Telangana government was discriminating against Foreign Medical Graduates despite their performing the same duties as locally trained medical interns.
He pointed out that FMGs must clear the National Medical Commission (NMC) screening examination before undertaking compulsory internships. After qualifying, they undergo the same internship programme and discharge duties in government hospitals alongside graduates of local medical colleges.
However, Rao said local medical interns received a monthly stipend of Rs 29,792, while FMG interns received only Rs 5,000. The difference amounted to Rs 24,792 per month, although both groups performed comparable duties during their compulsory training.
Rao argued that the disparity violated the principle of “Equal Pay for Equal Work”. He consequently urged Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and the Health Minister to eliminate the stipend difference.
BJP condemns police action against FMG protesters
Rao also criticised the police response to the ongoing demonstrations outside the Telangana Medical Council. He condemned the alleged lathi-charge and manhandling of protesting medical graduates. Furthermore, he objected to the registration of cases against students seeking parity in internship payments.
The BJP leader maintained that the graduates’ demand concerned equal compensation for identical responsibilities in government hospitals. He estimated that implementing equal stipends for FMG interns would cost the Telangana government only Rs 2 crore annually.
Rao called on the government to release the revised monthly stipends along with arrears dating back to January 2026. He also assured the protesting Foreign Medical Graduates of the BJP’s full support until their demands received a satisfactory resolution.