Junior doctors in Kolkata continued their agitation on Thursday as the West Bengal government rejected their demands for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s presence and a live broadcast as preconditions for talks to resolve ‘cease work’ protests demanding justice for rape and murder of a 31-year-old woman doctor in state-run RG Kar Hospital on August 9.
‘Ready for discussions with any pre-conditions’
The West Bengal government told the protesting doctors on Wednesday that it was ready to hold “free and frank discussions” over their demands but without any pre-conditions.
“We want to hold free and frank discussions with the junior doctors with an open mind, but they have set some pre-conditions for the meeting. No meeting can be held with an open mind if conditions are set beforehand,” West Bengal’s junior health minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said.
Bhattacharya further claimed that “political forces” might be influencing the doctors’ protests in Bengal.
The medics dismissed her claims as baseless and quipped that the protests would continue till their demands were met.
The minister, on behalf of the state government, urged the doctors to rejoin work by respecting the Supreme Court’s direction.
Mamata’s party leaders threatens protesting doctors
Meanwhile, leaders of the ruling party in the state – Trinamool Congress (TMC) – issued veiled threats to the agitating doctors by calling them “anti-nationals” and said the party might also conduct counter-protests against the agitating medics.
On Wednesday, around 3:20 pm, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant sent an email to the junior doctors, inviting them to the state secretariat – Nabanna – to hold discussions over their demands.
In response to the mail, the junior doctors highlighted five pre-conditions that they had set for the meeting and added a few more, including the CM’s presence during the discussions and that the event be telecast live. They even mentioned that a 30-member delegation be allowed to go to Nabanna.
Mamata upset with doctors’ conditions for meet
A report by The Telegraph quoted a source as saying that CM Banerjee was briefed by the chief secretary about doctors’ demand mail. “The chief minister was upset with the contents of the email,” the source said.
“She told the chief secretary not to respond to the pre-conditions of the junior doctors as she felt that dialogues cannot be held on terms set in advance,” the report quoted the source as saying.
The government’s standpoint was conveyed to protesting junior doctors by the junior health minister during the news conference.
Bhattacharya claimed that the CM was eager to hold discussion with the junior doctors and therefore, an email was sent to them by the health secretary.
Bhattacharya went on to urge doctors to resume duties, stressing the urgent need to restore healthcare services disrupted by the prolonged agitation.
“We were quite hopeful that the doctors would participate in the meeting. But they did not. No meeting can be held with so many conditions. We waited for them to turn up with an open mind, but they did not take any proactive steps to resolve the situation,” she further said.
Bhattacharya added that the doors for discussion remain open, but the government would not accept demands for a live broadcast or the CM’s mandatory presence at the talks.
“We will again request them to rejoin duties as per the Supreme Court’s directive and show respect to it. They must not forget their responsibility in this noble profession. They must not fall prey to the political provocation,” she said.
The protesting junior doctors have been demanding justice for the woman doctor, who was raped and murdered in RG Kar Hospital on August 9.
They are also seeking enhanced security measures for women health professionals and the suspension of several government officials, including the Kolkata Police Commissioner and the state health secretary, for alleged mishandling of the case.
With inputs from agencies
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RG Kar rape-murder case: Kolkata doctors protest continue as Mamata rejects preconditions for talks
