The Delhi government, which got busy with budget session of the assembly on Tuesday, has asked the agitating resident doctors under state-run government hospitals to resume work and set a deadline of 11 am. The government has warned of strict action.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted on the issue, "most demands of striking doctors genuine. I have directed Health Department to implement them. Health Department should have resolved it earlier (sic)."

The Congress, meanwhile, is fishing in troubled waters and extended support to the striking doctors. The party asked the Delhi government to address their demands immediately as the possibility of spurt in cases of illnesses lurks with the advent of monsoon

A senior official said, "the strike is not justified when we have agreed to all the demands. Strict action would be taken against striking doctors if they do not resume duty immediately."

Meanwhile, patients in government hospitals in Delhi had a harrowing time as around 15,000 resident doctors went on an indefinite strike on Monday, demanding adequate life-saving drugs, security at workplace and timely payment of their salaries.

The strike by resident doctors at 20 hospitals run by the central and Delhi governments and municipal corporations, including Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Maulana Azad Medical College has affected services like OPD (Outpatient department) and private ward services but emergency services were not interrupted, claimed a doctor at Safdarjung Hospital.

The Delhi government later accepted all the 19 demands of the striking doctors in a two-hour-long meeting held at the Delhi Secretariat, which was attended by around 25 resident doctors. However, protesting doctors have not called off the strike and claim that final decision will be made only after Delhi government makes minutes of the meeting public.

The doctors have been demanding adequate generic and life- saving drugs, security at workplace, fixed duty hours and timely payment of their salaries. On February 27, resident doctors had gone on a day-long strike over similar issues but it was called off after both the Centre and the state government held a meeting and discussed their issues.