West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Wednesday once again invited junior doctors protesting against the rape and murder of their colleague at a Kolkata hospital in August for talks with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
On Tuesday, the doctors defied a Supreme Court order directing them to end their strike and resume their duties by 5 pm that day. They said they would protest till their demands were met.
The court had warned of disciplinary action if the doctors did not resume work by the deadline.
The same day, the protestors also rejected an offer from the West Bengal government for talks, objecting to an invitation that sought to restrict the number of representatives who could meet Banerjee.
A 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front has been leading the protests for over a month, seeking the resignation of the Kolkata police commissioner and senior state health department officials.
On Wednesday, Pant said that a delegation of protesting doctors, comprising 12 to 15 members, was invited to meet Banerjee at 6 pm at the state secretariat.
Pant said that citizens had been deprived of vital healthcare services because of the doctors’ protest for the past 32 days. The chief secretary told the doctors that it was their duty to adhere to the court’s directive and resume their duties immediately.
“Unfortunately, it [court order] has not been adhered to so far,” Pant added.
The chief secretary’s letter came after the medics sent an email to the chief minister earlier on Wednesday. They reiterated their demand that the investigation into the rape and murder case be expedited and that the state’s healthcare facilities be provided adequate security.
The group also said that the “threat culture” in West Bengal’s medical centres must end.
They also demanded disciplinary proceedings against Sandip Ghosh, the principal of the RG Kar College and Hospital at the time of the incident, and other persons, under the 1971 West Bengal Services Classification, Control and Appeal Rules.
The rules provide for disciplinary action against government employees for misconduct.
The protesting doctors said that their delegation should be allowed to consist of 30 members and that it expects the administration to hold the meeting “with live telecast to maintain transparency”.
The junior doctors’ agitation has disrupted medical services at state-run hospitals in West Bengal. The state government told the Supreme Court on Monday that 23 persons had died due to the strike.
On Tuesday evening, health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam had written to the doctors’ forum inviting a delegation of up to 10 persons to meet government representatives at the state secretariat.
However, Debashish Halder, one of the leaders of the protest, said that the language of the communique was disrespectful and “downright insensitive”, The Indian Express reported.
The doctors continued their sit-in protest in front of the state health department headquarters on Tuesday evening.
Chandrima Bhattacharya, the state’s deputy health minister, said that the chief minister waited for the protestors at the state secretariat till 7.30 pm, but left after she did not get a response.
Banerjee holds the health portfolio in the West Bengal government.
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