KOLKATA: A day after the standoff between junior doctors and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee failed to materialise, junior doctors, along with senior doctors and others, joined a protest movement in various parts of the state.
They claimed the state government had not shown any initiative to remove the deadlock, although they expressed their willingness to end the stalemate.
The protesters stated that unless their five demands were met, they would continue their ceasework. Senior doctors also warned that if the junior doctors faced any repercussions from the state government, they too would initiate a ceasework in various state-run hospitals.
It is worth noting that on Saturday, the standoff between the agitating junior doctors and CM Banerjee continued after a proposed meeting at her residence was cancelled. Banerjee had appealed to the protesting doctors, who had arrived at her residence, 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," Banerjee added.
The junior doctors mentioned they had relented on their demand for live-streaming the talks after being told they would receive the minutes of the meeting. However, they were asked to leave. The doctors expressed disappointment, stating that the talks did not take place, suggesting that the government was not serious about finding a solution.
"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," a 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.
Another doctor, breaking down in tears before the camera, claimed the 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 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 ongoing deadlock. On Thursday, a scheduled meeting could not take place for the same reason.
Earlier, over a month after the protest began, CM Banerjee made a surprise visit to the venue where the junior doctors were protesting, assuring them that she would lend a sympathetic ear to their demands.
Following her visit, the protesters sent a letter to the West Bengal government expressing their willingness to hold talks with Banerjee to resolve the RG Kar issue.
"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," one of the agitating doctors said.
In response, the representatives of the junior doctors were invited for a discussion at Banerjee's residence at 6 pm on Saturday.
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