RG Kar
RG Kar: Junior doctors to meet Mamata Banerjee today with hunger strike on
Kolkata/IBNS: The West Bengal junior doctors will on Monday meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a dialogue over their demands for a reformed health system in the state in the aftermath of the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee medic at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The junior doctors have been called at state secretariat Nabanna at 5 pm sharp.
Though the government has asked the junior doctors to call off their hunger strike as a pre-condition before arriving at the meeting, the medics have turned it down.
The junior doctors on Sunday cleared a section of their colleagues, who are on hunger strike, will continue their "fast unto death" protest until their demands are fulfilled by the government.
The latest round of talks is scheduled to be held two days after the Chief Minister dialled the protesters via her government officials and appealed to them to call off the hunger strike.
Banerjee talked to them hours after the medics threatened to go on ceasework on all government and private hospitals in the state leaving the health sector stare at a complete collapse.
The doctors are on hunger strike for 17 days now demanding justice for the RG Kar rape and murder victim besides raising nine other demands which they say should be fulfilled for the sake of a clean and corruption-free healthcare system.
Barring the sacking of the state health secretary, Banerjee has agreed to most of the demands but sought time for the implementation.
"I agree to your demands for elections at medical colleges but I need four months for implementation as byelections and several festivals are due to take place within that time," she said.
When a medic who is on hunger strike read out the demand to sack NS Nigam, Banerjee outrightly rejected it and counter-charged a section of junior doctors of being involved in corruption.
"I can't accept this demand. The government will not function as per random demands. We will definitely probe upon receiving specific complaints of corruption," the Chief Minister, who accused a section of junior doctors of practicing at private hospitals during the strike, told a medic who is a part of 'fast unto death' movement.
The medic countered Banerjee saying, "We think the demand is justified as the heinous crime occurred during his tenure."
The Chief Minister hit back saying, "How can you demand sacking of all members of a department all together? Will you decide which government officer will be posted or not?... Let the investigation be over."
The medic responded, "I won't want to get into an argument with you on this."
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