Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]: Agitating doctors of the RK Kar Hospital on Wednesday clarified about their refusal to accept West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s invitation for talks at the state secretariat to resolve the impasse over their refusal to return to work. The doctors said they refused to attend because it was said to be a closed-door meeting.
Speaking to media, Dr Aqeeb said, “The mail that we received yesterday was from the principal secretary and it was written that there is a meeting with senior government officials, stating it to be a closed-door meeting. We refused it because we were against the closed-door meeting.”
“Like WB Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said the Chief Minister was waiting for us, nothing of this sort was mentioned in the mail. We then sent a mail to the CM office in which we mentioned our five demands,” he said.
He added further, “The demands included that those creating trouble in justice should be asked to resign. Elections should be conducted; college counsel should be given recognition and elected representatives should be part of it and not selected representatives among others.”
West Bengal Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said that CM Mamata Banerjee waited for doctors to come and talk to her after sending the letter but no one arrived at Nabanna.
“Your small delegation (maximum 10 persons) may visit ‘Nabanna’ now to meet government representatives,” the email sent by the state’s Health Secretary N S Nigam to the protesting medics on Tuesday evening stated.
“The language of the communication is not only disrespectful to us doctors, it’s downright insensitive. We find no reason to reply to this mail,” Dr Debasish Halder, a leader of the protesting doctors who organised a sit-in before the state health department headquarters at ‘Swasthya Bhavan’ in Salt Lake, said.
The doctors conveyed that although “doors remain open” for talks with the state’s highest authorities, they would continue with their agitation till their demands are met.
The protesting doctors of state-run healthcare facilities, currently on ‘cease work’ for over a month to protest the alleged rape and murder of the RG Kar hospital medic, defied the 5 pm deadline set by the Supreme Court to return to work, and conveyed their intentions to stay put before the ‘Swasthya Bhavan’ and keep pressing for their demands.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was scheduled to hold a meeting to review the functioning of health facilities and improve safety, security and patient services in the state.
Principals, Directors and medical superintendents and vice principals (MSVPs) of all medical colleges and hospitals in the state were invited to the meeting.
All Commissioners of Police and District Magistrates and Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) of all districts were also invited to this meeting.
Earlier on September 10, the father of the deceased trainee doctor from Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College said that the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has not done any work and his family is not satisfied with her role in the case. The victim’s father also said that they demanded a CBI investigation due to her “unsatisfied role” in the case.
Speaking to media, the victim’s father, said, “We are not satisfied with the role of the CM (Mamata Banerjee) in the case; that’s why we went to the CBI. She hasn’t done any work.
One of the policemen came to our house, they said we have arrested Sanjay Roy and he will be produced in fast track court and will get a death sentence. But the incident that happened with my daughter was not the work of just one person. We have been saying this since starting those persons from the department are involved in this.”