The West Bengal government on Tuesday reached out to doctors protesting the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, seeking to hold a dialogue to encourage them to resume work. However, the doctors rejected the government’s efforts, stating that they received an email from the Health Secretary, whose removal is one of their demands, making the email seem insulting.
Despite a Supreme Court order directing doctors to return to work by 5 PM on Tuesday, the protest continued. The Bengal government invited a delegation of 10 doctors for talks. However, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Chandrima Bhattacharya, stated that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee waited at the secretariat for the doctors, but no one showed up.
“The Chief Minister left the Bengal Secretariat after receiving no response from the doctors,” Bhattacharya said.
Speaking to the media this evening, the doctors mentioned that receiving an email from the Health Secretary was “humiliating” as one of their five demands was the removal of the Health Secretary and the Director of Medical Education (DME).
“We are always open to communication, but receiving an email from the Health Secretary is very humiliating for us. We feel there is no scope for communication,” the doctors said.
They further noted that the email did not come from the Chief Minister’s office, saying that had it come from there, they “would definitely consider whether to go or not.”
“We have been humiliated, so we cannot respond to this email. Let proper communication come, and we will definitely consider it,” the doctors added.
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the protesting resident doctors to resume work by 5 PM on Tuesday and stated that no adverse action would be taken against them upon resumption of work.
The court passed the order after the West Bengal government assured it that no action, including punitive transfers, would be taken against the protesting doctors upon resumption of work.
“We will continue the cease work as our demands are not met. We had asked the state government to remove the Kolkata Police Commissioner, Health Secretary, Director of Health Services, and the Director of Medical Education by 5 PM. We are open to discussions,” one of the protesting doctors told news agency PTI today.
A trainee doctor was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and her body was found in a semi-naked state in the hospital’s seminar hall on August 9. The incident sparked massive outrage across the country, with doctors launching protests, demanding safety at the workplace.
