KOLKATA: On Saturday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made an unscheduled appearance at the protest site of junior doctors sitting in protest after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College. Smelling unpopularity amidst the unrest, Banerjee, with a mix of empathy and urgency, assured the protesters that their demands would be looked into, terming it her "last attempt" to resolve the impasse. Following this Mamata Banerjee asked them to visit her residence for a meeting at 6 pm today.
"I came here not as your Chief Minister, but as your 'didi'," Banerjee said to the striking doctors. She shared that she is bothered by their well-being, telling them of sleepless nights she's had knowing the doctors have sat out in the elements for a month. "The way you are sitting here in the rain, I am suffering too," she shared, emphasizing that both she and the protesting doctors have endured sleepless nights over the issue.
The protests that hit the state's healthcare system began as an aftermath of the brutal rape and murder of a young medical trainee. The doctors demanded better security in state-run hospitals and action against senior officials for which they vowed not to return to work until these demands are met.
Ms Banerjee called upon the doctors to reconsider her proposal for a meeting and asked them to visit her residence for talks at 6 pm that evening. She promised her government would not take action against them for protesting, unlike other states. "This is not Uttar Pradesh," Banerjee said in a jocular manner, referring to the BJP-ruled state's use of the ESMA to clamp down on similar protests. "I am against taking action on doctors. I know the value of your noble work," she reassured the crowd amidst chants of "We want justice."
Her visit comes a day after an earlier failed attempt at holding a dialogue with the doctors at the state secretariat, Nabanna, which ended without any result with the talks getting stuck at the very outset after the government refused the protesters' demand to webcast the meeting.
While the move of the Chief Minister was taken as a positive one, protesting doctors insisted that they could not compromise unless and until the matter was discussed at length. "We welcome this step and are ready for transparent talks with proper representation," the doctors said, hinting that a solution might be within reach.
She announced the immediate dissolution of all patient welfare committees at state-run hospitals, apparently the first major move to win the confidence of the agitating doctors.
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