West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee received a team of junior physicians on Saturday, protesting the rape and killing of a trainee doctor at a state-run hospital in Kolkata. The medics requested that their meeting be aired live.
Hours after the Chief Minister unexpectedly visited their protest site and pledged to investigate their demands, the physicians arrived at Mamata Banerjee’s home. The physicians came at Mamata Banerjee’s house in the evening in the pouring rain, but the meeting could not happen because they said their videographer was not permitted inside.
The Chief Minister later requested the physicians to meet at her home at 6 p.m. today after they had earlier in the day hailed Mamata Banerjee’s unexpected visit to the protest site outside West Bengal’s health department headquarters, Swasthya Bhavan, in Salt Lake.
Mamata Banerjee’s Last Attempt To End The Crisis
Speaking to the physicians who were protesting the rape and killing of a trainee doctor at the agitation site last month, Mamata Banerjee said that it was her “last attempt” to end the crisis and that she would investigate their demands.
She said this while junior physicians staged a sit-in outside Swasthya Bhavan since Tuesday, demanding a number of things, including increased security at state-run hospitals and the dismissal of senior officials in connection with the rape and murder of the trainee doctor.
“This is not Uttar Pradesh.” – Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee urged the physicians to halt their protest and go back to work. “I came to meet you as your ‘didi’ (elder sister), not as the Chief Minister. I assure you that I will study your demands and take action if someone is found guilty. This is my last attempt to resolve the crisis,” the Chief Minister said.
“It rained all night on Friday. The way you are sitting here, I am suffering. I have also not slept night after night for the last 34 days. Because if you are on the road, I also have to stay awake as a guard,” she added.
She stated that similar protests were put down in Uttar Pradesh, which is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“I will not take any action against you. This is not Uttar Pradesh. They had implemented ESMA and stopped all sorts of strikes and rallies. But be rest assured, I will not do anything of that sort. I am against taking any action against doctors. I know that you do noble work,” she said amid ‘we want justice’ chants.
“The seniors (doctors) need you. Think about my proposal. If I can come to this protest site to stand by you, I can also ensure justice and listen to your demands,” she added.
“I respect democratic movements. I am also a product of student movements and have been on hunger strike for 26 days during the Singur anti-land acquisition movement,” she further said.
In addition, Mamata Banerjee declared that all state-run hospitals will immediately dissolve their patient welfare committees.
Prepared To Give Up Her Chair For People’s Benefit?
After this, the physicians greeted Mamata Banerjee with open arms when she visited the protest location and declared that they would be more than happy to have discussions with sufficient representation and appropriate openness.
A scheduled meeting between the physicians and Mamata Banerjee was supposed to take place on Thursday, but the doctors’ request to webcast the meeting live was turned down by the state government.
At the state secretariat, Nabanna, the chief minister had been waiting for a meeting with the irate doctors to break the deadlock in the RG Kar rape-murder case for two hours. The meeting did not take place even after the doctors arrived at the state secretariat.
At that point, Mamata Banerjee declared that she was “prepared to give up her chair for the benefit of the people.”
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