Kolkata: The parents of the medic who was raped and murdered in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital said on Thursday that they were not upset about not getting an audience with Union Minister Amit Shah during his visit to West Bengal on October 27. The couple, who had written to Shah on October 22 seeking an appointment, expressed hope that they may get the opportunity to meet the Union home minister in future.
“We understand that being the union home minister, he has enormous responsibilities. He must be too hard-pressed to squeeze some time out for us during the day-long visit,” the mother of the deceased doctor said. On October 27, Shah made his first visit to Bengal after the Lok Sabha polls in April-May and also after the rape and murder of the on-duty doctor at state-run RG Kar hospital on August 9, triggering nationwide protests.
State BJP leaders had said they would try to arrange a meeting between Shah and the medic’s parents, but it did not happen. “Maybe we will be able to meet him one day in future,” the medic’s mother told Bengali news channel ABP Ananda.
The parents criticized the newly-formed Junior Doctors Association, considered a parallel platform of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Forum which had been agitating in various ways demanding justice for the deceased medic besides stronger security measures at state-run hospitals.
“What is the locus standi of this new association? Did they ever protest after the death of our daughter? Many of these association members are known to be part of the threat culture brigade,” the mother said. The agitating junior doctors have been alleging that a threat culture exists in the government healthcare sector, in which a section of medics, teachers and officials are involved.
The mother also recalled how their daughter used to decorate their residence with lamps on the day of Kali Puja every year. “After bursting of fireworks, we (parents and daughter) used to go for pandal hopping and dine out. This year our house is plunged into darkness. We pray to Goddess Kali for the punishment of all those involved in the crime,” she said.
