KOLKATA: Upping the ante against junior doctors who have been protesting the rape and murder of their colleague at the RG Kar hospital, West Bengal's Agriculture Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay sought to know the source of their funds that helped continue the agitation for over two months.
Chattopadhyay was speaking at a post-Durga Puja get-together organised by the TMC at his constituency Khardaha in North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday.
A video of his address went viral on Thursday, triggering a fresh war of words with the junior doctors.
PTI did not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
"May I ask them, why are you agitating? For what reason are you agitating? Why is all the anger directed at the government?" he said.
"What is the source of your funds? From where are you getting so much money?" he added.
Reacting strongly, senior doctor Subarna Goswami said the "outburst" showed the discomfiture of the establishment as issues concerning the healthcare system are being flagged by junior doctors.
West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front member Swarnabha Ghosh said they have been agitating for justice for the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered while on duty at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
The protests are also against the "threat culture" or an atmosphere of intimidation at the state-run medical colleges, and to cleanse the healthcare system of corruption, he added.
Earlier, senior TMC leaders such as MP Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, MLAs Saukat Molla and Tapas Chatterjee made snide remarks about the agitation by the junior doctors, claiming that they have a political agenda.