Chennai: A solution to the nearly four-week-old strike by the medical college students in Tamil Nadu remained elusive with the striking students demanding fresh talks with the Tamil Nadu government on the issue of permitting private medical colleges.

Earlier in the day, the talks between the Tamil Nadu Health minister S Semmalai and the representatives of the striking students for over four hours on May 16 could not achieve any tangible results with the students sticking to their demand that private medical colleges should not be allowed in the state.

Semmalai told reporters after the meeting that he had told the students that the state had no power to prevent private medical colleges.

Though the Minister ruled out any further talks with them, the student leaders called on the state health secretary Girija Vaidyanathan and later told reporters that they wanted to have a fresh round of talks with the government on the issue.

The students are on strike from April 23 last demanding Medical Council of India's recognition to as many as 79 courses offered in various government and private medical colleges, increase in stipend, ban on opening of private medical colleges and withdraw moves to revise fee.

Meanwhile, government had transferred 15 government doctors, including the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors' Association president K Prabhakaran, who went on a day's token strike on May 12, in support of the striking students.

Earlier, Semmalai said he had told the student leaders that if they had any suggestions on the issue of permitting private medical colleges, the government would not hesitate to convey it to the Indian Medical Council, which alone had the powers for permitting medical colleges.

Asked whether there would be another round of talks, he said there was no need for that as the government had "fully" explained its position.

Asked whether the students had raised the issue of revocation of disciplinary action taken against some government doctors, who went on a day's token strike on May 14, Semmalai said the students did not raise the issue at all.

The issue of government doctors was totally different from that of the students, he said.

PTI