KOLKATA: After two failed attempts at holding talks with the protesting doctors, West Bengal government has once again approached the medics for a meeting to resolve the issues related to the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Chief Secretary Manoj Panth sent an email to the junior doctors stating that it will be the final attempt from the part of the government for a meeting. The meeting is scheduled at 5pm at the chief minister's residence in Kalighat.
The chief secretary in the letter also pointed out that the meeting cannot be videographed or live-streamed- the contention over which previous meetings were cancelled.
"This is the fifth and final time we are reaching out to you for a meeting between the Honourable Chief Minister and your delegates. In line with our discussion from the day before, we are once again inviting you to a meeting with the Honourable Chief Minister at her Kalighat residence for a discussion with an open mind," the letter reportedly states.
Meanwhile, junior doctors in West Bengal continued their strike on Monday. The doctors maintained their sit-in outside Swasthya Bhawan, the headquarters of the Health Department, marking the eighth day of their protest and the 36th day of their strike. They vowed to persist until their demands namely, the removal of the Kolkata Police Commissioner and senior state health officials are met.
"We will continue our strike until our demands are fulfilled. The state government is not taking the crisis seriously," said an agitating junior doctor.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a surprise visit to the protest site on Saturday and assured the doctors that their concerns would be addressed. However, the proposed meeting fell through when the protesters were reportedly asked to leave "unceremoniously" after waiting for three hours at the gates of the Chief Minister's residence.
One of the protesting doctors claimed that they had agreed to attend the meeting without live-streaming or recording as requested by Banerjee. However, after informing Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya of this decision, they were told it was too late to proceed with the meeting.
Previous attempts at talks between the junior doctors and Banerjee had also failed due to disagreements over live-streaming the meetings and the number of representatives allowed to attend.
The body of the postgraduate woman doctor was recovered from the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the rape and murder of the woman medic, following a Calcutta High Court order.
(With inputs from PTI)
