New Delhi: A day after the protesting resident doctors rejected the West Bengal government’s invitation for a meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, they received another invitation to meet her at 6pm today. Chief secretary Manoj Pant has invited a delegation of 12-15 members to the meeting.
What the doctors are demanding?
The doctors had previously said that they were willing to meet the chief minister but wanted their demands to be fulfilled first. Instead of a 12-15 member delegation, they are demanding a 30-member delegation to meet the chief minister. Their demands include action against those accused in the August 9 rape and murder of the doctor, as well as those involved in the alleged cover-up. They also seek the resignation of the Kolkata police commissioner and the health secretary.
Earlier, the state government had written to the doctors, inviting them to a meeting at the state secretariat, ‘Nabanna’, to seek a resolution to the deadlock. However, the doctors criticised the invitation as coming from the Health Secretary, whose resignation they are demanding, and deemed it “insulting”. They also objected to the government’s restriction of the number of protesters allowed to attend the meeting to just 10.
Defiance of Supreme Court order
In defiance of a Supreme Court order, which instructed them to return to duty by 5pm on September 10, the doctors have refused to resume work until their demands are met. They have set up makeshift shelters, provided fans, and arranged for food and water, demonstrating their intention to continue the protest until their conditions are met.
In addition to the resignation of police commissioner Vineet Goyal and top health officials, the doctors are demanding improved safety measures for healthcare staff in the state’s hospitals.
The protests in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal erupted following the discovery of the raped and murdered 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor in a seminar room at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. One individual has been arrested in connection with the case, and the CBI is conducting an investigation.