By Adity Saha

Copyright medicaldialogues

Mumbai: After holding a state-wide strike on September 18 against the registration of homoeopathic practitioners with a Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) under the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), doctors under the banner of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) have now announced their next course of action.The IMA has decided to wait for seven days for a positive response from the state government. If the controversial notification allowing CCMP-certified homoeopaths to register with MMC is not withdrawn, the doctors have warned of intensifying their agitation.In a statement, the association stated that the next phase of the protest will include a long march, agitation at Azad Maidan, hunger strike, and complete withdrawal of health services across the state. The association said that this movement will involve nearly two lakh allopathic doctors and their associations.Also read- Around 1.8 lakh doctors strike in Maharashtra against Homeopath-CCMP registrationAt the same time, the IMA has stated that it will also approach the Supreme Court over the issue. The body has appealed to its members to contribute generously to the legal fund to strengthen their case.This comes after the association, on September 18, met with the Chief Minister at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and handed over their memorandum. After this, the government took cognisance of their strike and requested the doctors to call off their strike. Observing that their protest had reached higher levels, the association decided to wait for seven days for the government’s response to the matter. Medical Dialogues recently reported that nearly 1.8 lakh doctors across Maharashtra staged a strike opposing the state government’s move to allow homeopathic practitioners with CCMP to register with the Maharashtra Medical Council.While emergency and critical services were unaffected, doctors from government, BMC, and private hospitals participated. The protest followed the government’s fresh circular on September 5, reviving CCMP registration despite earlier withdrawal.Earlier this year, the state government directed the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) to register homoeopaths who had completed the one-year Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP), to allow them to prescribe allopathic medicines to patients in select cases.However, the notification was withdrawn after the IMA Maharashtra members, who planned a strike on July 11 but deferred it until further notice, met with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and explained about the confusion among patients.The government issued a fresh circular on September 5, reviving the registration process. A fresh government resolution (GR) was issued in this regard on September 5, upsetting allopathic practitioners, who decided to go ahead with the 24-hour strike.”All 231 branches of IMA Maharashtra observed the strike seriously on 18th September 2025. It was one of the biggest strikes in recent times,” said the association in a recent statement after the strike. Expressing gratitude to resident doctors and other medical associations for joining the strike in solidarity, IMA said, “We deeply appreciate the joining of MARD in Strike & Our Strength doubled. We thank each and every allopathic practitioner who kept OPDs and hospitals closed and participated in the protest. We also thank MAGMO and MSMTA, who supported the protest by wearing black ribbons. Special thanks to AMC, MSRDA, ASMI, AFPI FAIMA FORDA and all associations of allopathic doctors who shut down their clinics and hospitals. We also appreciate the participation of corporate hospitals.”What is the issue?The CCMP course was started based on the Government Resolution dated 13.03.2014. The course was conducted under the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Nashik. After successful completion, eligible homeopathic practitioners received training in allopathic (modern) medicine to serve in public healthcare services. In 2014, the Maharashtra Medical Council issued a notice in which the council was given the authority to ask all doctors who have completed the CCMP course to register with the council.Back in 2017, the State Medical Education and Drugs Department passed a notification and allowed Homeopaths to practice modern medicine and register with MMC. However, allopathic doctors strongly opposed this move and the matter ultimately resulted in IMA challenging the amendments in the Bombay High Court in 2014. Consequently, the HC bench stayed the notification.While the matter was awaiting a court judgment, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) had, on June 30, officially decided to allow homeopathic practitioners who completed the CCMP course to register with the council and prescribe allopathic medicines. MMC was directed to register CCM-qualified around 10,000 to 90,000 homeopathic doctors in Maharashtra, in a separate register starting July 15. However, the decision was put on hold and the Government suspended the…