No negative action taken so far, says Mamata Banerjee as she urges protesting doctors to go back to work
Kolkata, June 15 (IBNS): Referring that no 'negative action' has been taken against the protesting doctors so far, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday reiterated that several outsiders have entered the demonstration even as the standoff between the CM and the junior doctors on warpath with the government over their security continued.
"State government is committed towards resuming normal medical services at the soonest," she said while addressing a press conference at state secretariat Nabanna.
She urged doctors to rejoin work.
"We have accepted many of their demands and we are ready to accept more demands if they have. People are suffering. We are appealing the doctors to rejoin work," she said.
Mamata Banerjee described the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital (NRSMCH) incident as 'unfortunate'.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who paid a visit to state-run SSKM hospital on Thursday morning and gave an ultimatum to protesting doctors to join work, said she faced 'humiliation' during her visit.
"They told obnoxious comments against me. I did not tell anyone about it till today. But I told the police not to arrest them," she said.
"We wanted to make a delegation meet. The junior doctors did not turn up to meet me for two days," she said as the protesting junior doctors team did not meet her at the state secretariat Nabanna.
"No negative action has been taken against anyone so far," she said.
"A peaceful solution of the incident should be reached," she said.
"My doors are opened for talks," she said.
Staying firm in their own demands, protesting Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital (NRSMCH) junior doctors have turned down West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's offer to sit across table at state secretariat Nabanna and urged her to visit the hospital.
"After the kind of language our Chief Minister used against us, we have decided not to go to Nabanna. We are worried about the patients. We urge our Chief Minister to come to NRS and talk to us and find a solution," an intern of NRS on behalf of the agitators said.
Amid reports that 300 doctors, which include the heads of departments of medical colleges and other hospitals in Kolkata, Burdwan, Darjeeling and North 24 Parganas districts, have resigned from their positions, the ongoing strike of the protesting medical practitioners entered its fifth day on Saturday.
The junior doctors went for an indefinite strike across West Bengal after relatives of Kolkata's Tangra resident 85-year-old Md. Sayeed, whose death at the NRS Hospital prompted cries of medical negligence from them, brought some 200 people to the hospital and beat up junior doctors, seriously wounding Paribaha Mukhopadhayay on Monday night.
The matter got more complex after Banerjee visited the SSKM Hospital a day ago and lost her cool over the protesters' slogans.
Banerjee, amid sloganeering by the agitators, alleged that the protesters are "outsiders". She even sent an ultimatum to the agitators to join work within four hours or else they would face action. However, Banerjee's ultimatum didn't change the situation much.
Doctors from Delhi, Mumbai and other cities have also joined the protest against the assault on Mukhopadhyay.
Going tough with the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, the Calcutta High Court on Friday asked the ruling dispensation to mediate with the junior doctors protesting against the attack on their mate Paribaha Mukhopadhyay.
The state government on Saturday announced that it will bear all the expenses of medical treatment of the junior doctor who is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
In view of the recent assault on doctors in West Bengal, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, on Saturday wrote a letter to the Chief Ministers of all States and UTs drawing their attention for strict action against any person who assaults doctors.
Expressing deep concern over the recent act of violence against doctors, the Union Health Minister stated that incidents of assaults on doctors are reported from different parts of the country and this leads to sudden strike by doctors, gravely affecting the healthcare services.
“Resident doctors in many parts of the country are agitating and not providing healthcare services. Agitations by doctors in West Bengal seem to be getting aggravated and taking shape of strike by both Government and Private sector doctors, all over the country”, he wrote.
Representatives from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Delhi Medical Association (DMA) also called on Dr. Harsh Vardhan today.
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