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DALIT SOLIDARITY NEWS   Thursday, March 22, 2007   MPs allege caste-based discrimination at AIIMS The Hindu 21 March 2007 Parliamentarians today staged a demonstration at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences alleging caste-based discrimination against medicos at the institute. The premier healthcare institute had been rocked by student protests a few months back after a group of medicos claimed that some of them were failed in examinations because they belonged to a different caste. "Students are failed on caste basis. They face discrimination from day one. We have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, met the health minister and raised questions in Parliament," said Rajya Sabha member Nirmala Deshpande. Deshpande, who was leading a group of five MPs in the protest at AIIMS, Ajay Singh, a final year student belonging to the Scheduled Caste was allegedly discriminated against and failed in the examination. She claimed that the AIIMS governing body had ordered a re-test under a different set of examiners, which was flouted and the same examiners failed Ajay Singh for a second time. Deshpande demanded that the institute implement the decision of the governing body and conduct a re-test under a different set of examiners. Link to the article 8:34 AM