Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked Thursday the agitating junior doctors across the state to resume work by 2.00pm and warned of action if the order was not followed. However, in spite of her diktat the doctors defied the 2.00pm-deadline and said the demonstration will continue till their demands related to their security in government hospitals are met.
The doctors have been agitating since Tuesday after two of their colleagues were attacked and seriously injured at the NRS medical college and hospital in Kolkata. One had to undergo a brain surgery after being severely wounded.
Banerjee, who reached the state-run SSKM hospital around 12.10 pm in the wake of disruption of medical services in several parts of the state over the past three days, directed the police to clear the hospital premises, asserting that no one apart from patients should be allowed on the campus.
The Chief Minister claimed that the agitation was part of a conspiracy of her political rivals. “I condemn the agitation. The junior doctors’ strike is a conspiracy by the CPI(M) and the BJP,” Banerjee, who also holds the Health and Family Welfare portfolio, said.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief alleged that outsiders had entered medical colleges and hospitals to create disturbances. She also accused the BJP of trying to give the strike a communal colour.
Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy had earlier alleged that members of a particular community had carried out the attack on doctors and that the perpetrators belonged to the TMC.
“The BJP, with help from the CPI(M), is indulging in Hindu-Muslim politics. I am shocked to see their love affair. BJP chief Amit Shah is encouraging his party cadres to create communal tension,” Banerjee added.
The doctors at the SSKM Hospital raised ‘we want justice’ slogans before the Chief Minister. Despite the warning, the protesters were seen continuing with their agitation at the SSKM hospital.
Emergency wards, outdoor facilities, pathological units of many state-run medical colleges and hospitals and a number of private medical facilities in the state have remained closed over the past two days in the wake of the protest.
Meanwhile the opposition in West Bengal slammed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her alleged threats to agitating doctors and sought her immediate resignation as the Health Minister.
Bengal BJP vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said the Chief Minister, instead of solving the problem, was indulging in blame game.
“Is this a way to deal with the agitating doctors? Instead of solving the problem, she is blaming the doctors, the BJP and others. This is completely absurd. If she can’t control the situation, she should resign as the Health Minister,” Majumdar asserted.
Accusing the TMC supremo of politicising the issue, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said Banerjee does not seem interested in ending the impasse.
“Is she is concerned about solving the problem, or would just want to politicise the matter? The way she was threatening the doctors, it seems she is not at all interested in ending the impasse,” informed Chakrabarty.
Later in the day a team of doctors met Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi at the Raj Bhavan here over the issue and said the Chief Minister’s reaction to their protest was unexpected.
“We will continue with our agitation till our demands are fulfilled. We have spoken to the Governor. He listened to us and hopefully will speak to the Chief Minister,” one of the junior doctors told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan after meeting Tripathi.
The delegation reiterated the demands of the striking doctors. “We will continue with our agitation till our demands are fulfilled. Our demands are simple… proper security with armed policemen at all hospitals, arrest of culprits involved Saturday in the NRS attack under non-bailable sections,” said one of the agitators.
“We did not expect the Chief Minister to say what she did. Listening to her, we felt like that we were the culprits,” another junior doctor said.
Agencies
