KOLKATA: The standoff between agitating junior doctors and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee continued after a proposed meeting at her residence fell through on Saturday evening.
CM Banerjee appealed to the agitating doctors, who had arrived at her residence for talks, to join the meeting, amid their demand for live-streaming of the discussions.
"I would request you all to come inside and attend the meeting. As the matter is before the court, we cannot allow live streaming. I will video-record the meeting and will provide you with a copy only after permission from the Supreme Court," she said.
"Today, you said that you want a meeting, so I have been waiting. Why are you people insulting me like this? Please don't insult me like this. Earlier on three occasions, I have been waiting but you people didn't come," she said.
The junior doctors said they climbed down on their demand for live streaming of the talks after being told that they would receive the minutes of the meeting. However, they were asked to leave. The doctors said they were disheartened that the talks did not take place. It appears that the government is not serious in finding a solution, they added.
"When we came here, we had demanded video recording or live-streaming of the talks. We were not allowed. Then the chief minister came out and appealed to us to join the talks, promising that we would receive the minutes of the meeting. We discussed among ourselves and agreed to join the meeting without live-streaming or video recording," the doctor said.
"When we conveyed this to Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya, we were told to leave the venue because it was too late and they had been waiting for us for three hours. We were unceremoniously asked to leave," the doctor added.
Breaking down in tears before the camera, another doctor said this incident reflected the "true intentions" of the state government.
"It shows who is not serious about the talks," the doctor said.
A video shared by the junior doctors showed Bhattacharya telling them to leave as it was too late.
"Today it's over, we have been waiting for three hours but you people didn't come inside. It's too late now," she was heard saying.
The scheduled meeting between Banerjee and the agitating junior doctors, who have been protesting over the RG Kar incident, did not take place even after a three-hour wait due to the impasse over live-streaming the meeting.
Banerjee had made an earnest appeal to the junior doctors to join the meeting despite the impasse.
On Thursday, a scheduled meeting couldn't take place after there was a deadlock over the same issue of live streaming.
Earlier, over a month after the doctors' protest began, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday made a surprise visit to the venue where the junior doctors were protesting and assured them that she would lend a sympathetic ear to their demands.
Hours after her visit, protesters sent a mail to West Bengal government expressing their wish to hold talks with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to resolve the RG Kar impasse.
"We are willing to hold a meeting with the chief minister anywhere and anytime to resolve the impasse. We welcome her visit to us this afternoon. This is a very positive move," an agitating doctor said.
Following this the representatives of the junior doctors were invited for a talk at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence at 6 pm on Saturday.
CM's visit
The CM's visit to the protest venue came when her government was finding itself against the wall for its alleged inaction and missteps following the gruesome rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
The junior doctors have been on a protesting spree in support of their multi-point charter of demands following the heinous rape and murder at the state-run hospital.
Amid the ongoing deadlock between the state government and the protesting doctors, Mamata chose to visit the protest venue in a bid to end the impasse and said that this is her last attempt to resolve the crisis.
According to NDTV, Banerjee reached the protest site and struck a conciliatory tone, asking if she could address the doctors. Amid slogan-shouting she said in Bengali, "Please listen to me for five minutes and then shout slogans, it is your democratic right to do so. I have been waiting for a long time. Against the advice of my security officers, I have come here to salute your protests. I have also been part of student movements, I know my post is not a big deal, your voice is. It was raining all night and you suffered. I couldn't sleep either because I was feeling bad."
According to news agency PTI, amid chants of 'we want justice' outside the Swasthya Bhawan in Salt Lake, Banerjee said she was spending sleepless nights as the medics were agitating on the road amid rains.
"I came to meet you as your 'didi' not as the chief minister," she said.
"I assure you that I will study your demands and take action if someone is found guilty," she added, urging the protesting doctors to return to work.
She also announced that patient welfare committees of all state-run hospitals were dissolved with immediate effect.
"This is my last attempt to resolve the crisis," Banerjee said.
After the chief minister left the site, the agitating doctors said they were not ready to compromise on their demands till discussions were held.
The medics have been camping outside Swasthya Bhawan, the headquarters of the state Health Department, since Tuesday with a host of demands, including better security at state-run hospitals and the removal of top officials over the rape and murder of the doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The West Bengal government had invited the doctors for talks on Tuesday, but they had rejected the invite because it had come from the health secretary, whose resignation they are seeking.
On Wednesday, the doctors had made four key demands for the discussion to take place which included that they should be allowed to send a delegation of at least 30 and the discussion should be held in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Three of the four demands for talks had been met and the doctors had reached the state secretariat on Thursday for a meeting but it did not take place because the government did not agree to its live streaming.
Explaining the rationale after Thursday's meeting did not happen, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who said she had been waiting for the doctors for over two hours, stated that the matter was in court and live streaming the meeting would be against protocol.
Banerjee apologised to the people of West Bengal and said she was willing to step down, but also spoke of a "political colour" to the protests.
The BJP termed Mamata Banerjee's surprise visit to the protest site of junior doctors as "photo-op" and alleged that she was there to sow the "seeds of suspicion" among the medical fraternity.
(With inputs from PTI.)
