Kolkata: The West Bengal administration issued a new appeal on Wednesday, requesting that the junior physicians demonstrating outside the Swasthya Bhavan, the state Health Department’s headquarters in Salt Lake, send a delegation to discuss their demands.
The physicians who protested the rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital last month want the Health Secretary, Director of Health Services, and Director of Medical Education to be suspended.
Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam issued a similar call for negotiations on Tuesday evening, but the protesting doctors rebuffed it. They questioned the logic of the appeal coming from the same person whose suspension is one of their key demands.
“One of our main demands is the suspension of Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam. Yet, the email for a meeting on our demands came from the same Health Secretary’s office, which is insulting,” a protesting junior doctor had said on Tuesday.
Keeping that in mind, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant issued the appeal on Wednesday.
“We value your openness to dialogue, as constructive discussions are essential for addressing concerns and working together to improve our healthcare infrastructure,” read the appeal by Pant.
The Chief Secretary requested that the protesting junior doctors send a delegation of 12 to 15 members to Nabanna by 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
However, as of the time this story was reported, the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum (WBJDF), which is organising the demonstration, had not announced its next move.
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“We will communicate our decision soon after discussing the matter,” said a protesting doctor.
In his letter to the junior doctors, the Chief Secretary also reminded them of the dire situation, where ordinary people have been denied medical care for the previous 32 days due to the ongoing protest.
On Monday, the Supreme Court made a significant ruling, stating that doctors in West Bengal protesting the R.G. Kar rape-murder must resume their duty by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, or the state government will be permitted to take disciplinary action against them.
Despite the Supreme Court’s ultimatum, the young doctors remained resolute in their cause. They vowed to continue their agitation and called for a march to Swasthya Bhavan on Tuesday afternoon.
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–IANS
(Photo: IANS/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
