Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday denied that she had threatened protesting junior doctors in West Bengal with criminal cases.
Resident doctors’ associations in the state have been on strike for 20 days to protest the alleged rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital this month.
Banerjee’s statement came after the Bharatiya Janata Party objected to her remarks a day earlier while speaking at a Trinamool Congress function. The Hindutva party said that Banerjee had “threatened doctors with word play” in an attempt to get them to resume their duties.
“I detect a malicious disinformation campaign in some print, electronic and digital media which has been unleashed with reference to a speech that I made,” Banerjee said in a post on X on Thursday.
According to NDTV, Banerjee had said: “We did not act against you [junior doctors] after you protested because I understand you are upset. But please join work gradually. Supreme Court has said that the state government can now take action [against protestors]. I don’t want to take action because I want them to study properly.”
She reportedly added: “If they get an FIR registered, their future will be destroyed, they won't get a chance anywhere, they won't get passports and visas. If I take legal action, their lives will be destroyed. I don't want that, our government has a human outlook, we want to create more doctors with this human outlook.”
Soon after her speech on Wednesday, BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters: “After misleading the probe, destroying evidence and shielding accused, a new strategy to threaten doctors has emerged.”
The BJP also accused Banerjee of “shamelessly incited the gathering”.
“Let me most emphatically clarify that I have not uttered a single word against the [medical] students or their movements,” said Banerjee on Thursday. “I totally support their movement. Their movement is genuine. I never threatened them, as some people are accusing me of doing. This allegation is completely false.”
Banerjee maintained that she had, on the contrary, spoken out against the BJP. “I have spoken against BJP…because, with the support of the Government of India, they are threatening the democracy in our State and trying to create anarchy,” she said.
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