Kolkata: The meeting between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and agitating junior doctors on Monday lasted nearly two hours, discussing various demands of the medics, including the prevailing "threat culture" in the state's hospitals, to resolve the impasse stemming from the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital in August.
During the talks, held on the 17th day of a fast-unto-death by some protesting doctors, which was streamed Live for the first time from the state secretariat-Nabanna, Banerjee urged the junior doctors to end their fast, stating that most of their demands had been addressed, while rejecting the one on removing the state health secretary.
Although both sides agreed on the prevailing threat culture, they differed on the underlying premises, forces, and situations that promote it. “At RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, several junior doctors and medical students were suspended without following proper procedures and rules. How can these students or resident doctors be suspended just on the basis of complaints? Who gave the college authorities the right to take such a step without informing the state government? Isn’t this a threat culture?” the chief minister said.
Following this, Aniket Mahato, an agitating doctor who had to be hospitalised after five days of fasting, countered Banerjee by saying those who were suspended “have been very much part of the threat culture and don’t deserve to be doctors.” “If needed, the state government can assess their performance and then decide. The atmosphere of the medical college campus has been vitiated by these goons under the guise of students. If you recheck their answer sheets, you will see these students don’t deserve to get even pass marks,” he said.
The junior doctors have been on a fast-unto-death for the last 17 days, demanding justice for their deceased colleague and calling for systemic changes in the state's healthcare infrastructure. So far, six doctors on hunger strike have been hospitalised due to deteriorating health, while eight others remain on an indefinite fast, demanding that the state government take constructive action by October 21 to resolve the deadlock.
Referring to the demand for the removal of Health Secretary Nigam, which the chief minister has so far resisted, she protested against labelling him as an accused of supporting the threat culture” without any concrete proof.
“You cannot call a person accused without any concrete proof. First, you have to provide evidence; then you can call a person accused,” she said, to which an agitating doctor responded, “A person can be called accused as per law until he or she is proven guilty.” An agitating doctor Kinjal Nanda informed Banerjee that they had repeatedly raised concerns in writing with the state health department over the past three years about the "toxic" environment at RG Kar Hospital.
Nanda added: "Woman medics were subjected to inappropriate advances by a group of their male counterparts, and those who faced sexual harassment had no proper channel to file their complaints." During the meeting, both sides expressed differing views at times. "If you start an agitation, you should know how to end it. It is not right to assume that all your demands will be accepted. You are free to present your demands, but we also have the right to assess whether they are justified or not,” Banerjee said.
Promising to look into their demands, she requested the junior doctors to convince their colleagues to withdraw the fast and rejoin duties. “We want all of you to remain fit and healthy and prosper in your lives. I am also a product of a mass movement. I am really disturbed that some of your colleagues are on a fast. I would request you all to withdraw the fast,” she said at the conclusion of the meeting that began at 5 pm and ended at 7.17 pm.
The state government had initially provided 45 minutes for the meeting, conditional upon the "withdrawal of the hunger strike." However, the protesting doctors had refused to end their hunger strike until all their demands were met but agreed to join the talks on Monday. Systemic reforms to enhance workplace safety in medical institutions are being demanded by junior doctors, who are also calling for elections in medical colleges.
Banerjee urged them to "restore normalcy" and assured them of full cooperation from the administration. She acknowledged that some of the demands require policy decisions that "cannot be implemented overnight" and urged them to "rise above differences on a few demands" for the sake of the patients who depend on them for treatment.
The agitating doctors, joined by colleagues across the state, have threatened to escalate their protest by organising a strike of all medical professionals in West Bengal on October 22 if their demands are not met, with a mega rally planned for Sunday to further press their demands.
The junior doctors initiated a 'cease-work' on August 9 following the alleged rape and murder of their colleague at RG Kar Hospital, and the hunger strike began on October 5 after nearly 50 days of 'cease-work' in two phases.
