The Legal Coordination Committee for Government Doctors (LCC) has appealed to the Chief Minister to announce a government job for the widow of Vivekanandan, a government doctor who died during the COVID-19 pandemic on January 26. 

As leader of the opposition in the previous government, the present Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had urged the then government to give ₹1 crore as relief to families of government doctors who died in the pandemic while in service. But his own government had not given any financial relief to the families of deceased doctors, said LCC president S. Perumal Pillai.  

Dr. Vivekanandan’s wife had met health minister Ma. Subramanian thrice with her children, pleading for a government job. Though the minister had assured her of relief and a job within a week nothing had materialised, he said. It is ironic when the minister has announced jobs for individuals recovering from alcohol addiction, he says. 

Despite the High Court order to provide a job to the widow, “the family is yet to receive justice”, he said, pointing out that during the recent Assembly session BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan had urged the government to provide a job to her. 

The Health Minister had responded that Dr. Vivekanandan had two wives and there were family disputes within his family. “Such a dishonouring baseless statement, along with failure to honour the promise made, has deeply hurt the already grieving family,” he said. 

LCC requested that the CM should order pay band 4 at 12 years for government doctors; and a government job for Dr. Vivekanand’s wife on Republic Day.