Agitating junior doctors in
West Bengal on Tuesday rejected Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee's invitation for talks at the state secretariat, expressing discontent over the "tone" of an email from the government. The doctors are protesting the Kolkata rape-murder incident that took place at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last month.
The state's Health Secretary, N S Nigam, sent an email to the protesting doctors on Tuesday evening, stating, "Your small delegation (maximum 10 persons) may visit 'Nabanna' now to meet government representatives." However, the protesting doctors found the language of the email offensive, reported news agency PTI.
"The language used in the communication is not only disrespectful to us doctors, but it's also highly insensitive. We see no reason to respond to this email," said Dr Debasish Halder, a leader of the protesting doctors, during a sit-in outside the state health department headquarters at 'Swasthya Bhavan' in Salt Lake.
The doctors maintained that while they are open to dialogue with the state's highest authorities, their agitation would continue until their demands are met. The junior doctors, employed in state-run healthcare facilities, have been on strike for over a month following the Kolkata rape-murder incident. They defied the Supreme Court's 5 pm deadline to return to work and declared their intention to continue their protest outside 'Swasthya Bhavan' until their demands were addressed.
Earlier in the day, the protesting doctors organised a 'clean up Swasthya Bhavan' march, demanding the resignations of the Health Secretary, Director of Health Education (DHE), and Director of Health Services (DHS), as well as the removal of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal. These were part of a five-point list of demands.
The protesters had set a 5 pm deadline, aligning with the Supreme Court's time frame, for the state administration to act on their demands.
'West Bengal CM waited but there was no response from doctors'
Addressing the media at 7.30 pm from 'Nabanna', Bengal's Minister of State for Health, Chandrima Bhattacharya, claimed that the CM had taken a "positive approach" by offering to meet the medics. The CM, who also holds the health portfolio, was waiting for the doctors' delegation to arrive for the meeting but left her office at 7.30 pm after receiving no response.
"The email was sent to the official ID of the Junior Doctors' Front at around 6.10 pm. The chief minister waited, but as there was no response, she left," Bhattacharya explained.
However, the doctors expressed dissatisfaction with the government's restriction on the number of representatives allowed to attend the meeting. "The email did not even come from the state secretariat but from the health secretary, whose resignation we are demanding. This is an insult," Dr Halder stated.
He affirmed that the protests and the strike over the Kolkata rape-murder would continue, indicating that the sit-in outside the state health headquarters would likely stretch into the night.
