MEERUT: Hundreds gathered for the "mahapanchayat" called by embattled Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA from Sardhana, Atul Pradhan, whos been on a hunger strike for the past week against the private hospitals "inflated bills and hefty consultation fees".To lend support to the cause, the state president of SP, Naresh Uttam Patel, reached Meerut and appealed to Pradhan to call off the hunger strike.This comes two days after farmer leader Rakesh Tikait made a similar appeal.On Monday, Pradhan gave a list of demands to the district administration that included reduction in consultation in fees, removal of strongmen from hospital premises, prescription of cheaper medicines, etc. After the district administrations assurance that some of the district-level demands had already been met and those that only the state can grant will be sent to Lucknow, the SP MLA broke his hunger strike after a girl administered him a glass of juice.The Meerut Chapter of the Indian Medical Association stated, "We strongly condemn the so-called hunger strike in which the MLA was actually consuming coconut water. The attack on the medical fraternity was politically motivated and there is no truth in the claims made by him. Derogatory remarks were used against the medical fraternity for which the SP MLA is responsible. He will have to tender an apology or we will have to take legal course and even slap a defamation case."The SP MLA was booked for "barging into the Meerut-based Nutema hospital on November 8 along with his over 20 supporters, alleging that the administration had given an inflated bill and he purportedly created a ruckus within the premises." An FIR was thereafter lodged against the MLA, his supporters and the patients family.

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