After Ms Banerjee’s deal with, medical doctors mentioned they need a “clear assembly”.
Taking a shock step to finish the deadlock between her authorities and protesting medical doctors, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday visited the positioning the place the medics are staging a sit-in and addressed them.
The medical doctors have been protesting since a trainee physician was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical School and Hospital in Kolkata final month and started a sit-in outdoors Swasthya Bhavan, the headquarters of the West Bengal well being division, on Tuesday. There have been strikes for a dialogue between the state authorities and the medical doctors since then however they’ve been getting stalled, most lately over the protestors’ demand for dwell streaming of the talks.
Ms Banerjee reached the protest web site on Saturday and struck a conciliatory tone, asking if she might deal with the medical doctors. Amid slogan-shouting she mentioned in Bengali, “Please hearken to me for 5 minutes after which shout slogans, it’s your democratic proper to take action. I’ve been ready for a very long time. Towards the recommendation of my safety officers, I’ve come right here to salute your protests. I’ve additionally been a part of scholar actions, I do know my put up just isn’t an enormous deal, your voice is. It was raining all night time and also you suffered. I could not sleep both as a result of I used to be feeling dangerous.”
Acknowledging that the protests had been occurring for over a month, she urged the protesting medical doctors to return to work, assuring them that the federal government would lend a sympathetic ear to their calls for.
“I’ll examine the calls for, I do not run the federal government alone. I’ll converse to the chief secretary, house secretary and director common of police. Motion will probably be taken towards those that are discovered responsible. I would like justice for Tilottama (the title given to the girl who was raped and murdered). Out of your platform, I’ll request the CBI to hurry up the investigation. I request you, I want a while to contemplate your calls for. In the event you belief me, come and speak to me, I’ll look into your calls for,” she assured the medical doctors.
Urging the protesters to return to work, she mentioned their households had been anxious about them and plenty of sufferers had died as a result of they didn’t get correct healthcare.
“Return to work. I’ll be certain that no injustice occurs. I’ll arrange committees in each hospital which can have senior and junior medical doctors as members. Everybody discovered responsible will probably be punished, it isn’t like they’re my associates (referring to the demand for the resignation of some officers). Please speak amongst yourselves and return to work, I can’t take any motion. In Uttar Pradesh, motion was taken, I will not try this. I do know you’re employed lots, I understand how necessary you’re,” she mentioned.
“That is my final try and resolve the disaster… In the event you maintain your religion in me, I’ll look into your complaints. The case is on within the Supreme Courtroom (which had set a September 10 deadline for the medical doctors to return to work) and the subsequent listening to is on Tuesday. I do not need you to undergo. I’ve come to make a request as your ‘didi’ (huge sister), not as a chief minister. I’m empathetic and I help your protest… I had additionally gone on a starvation strike for 26 days (in the course of the protest towards the acquisition of farmland in Singur), however nobody from the then authorities got here to talk to me,” Ms Banerjee added.
Docs’ Take
The medical doctors shouted “we would like justice” loudly in the direction of the tip of Ms Banerjee’s deal with and, speaking to reporters after she completed talking, a few of the protesters mentioned that whereas they welcomed her overture, they need a “clear” assembly – referring to the demand for a dwell telecast of discussions.
“We welcome Mamata Banerjee’s go to. We’re prepared to carry talks along with her. Media is current right here. Let there be a clear assembly along with her over our 5 calls for,” mentioned a protesting physician.
Bone Of Competition
The West Bengal authorities had invited the medical doctors for talks on Tuesday, however they’d rejected the invite as a result of it had come from the well being secretary, whose resignation they’re looking for. On Wednesday, the medical doctors had made 4 key calls for for the dialogue to happen: they need to be allowed to ship a delegation of at the very least 30, the dialogue needs to be held within the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, it needs to be centred round their five-point calls for, and the assembly needs to be dwell telecast.
Three of the 4 calls for for talks had been met and the medical doctors had reached the state secretariat on Thursday for a gathering nevertheless it didn’t happen as a result of the federal government didn’t comply with its dwell streaming.
Explaining the rationale after Thursday’s assembly didn’t occur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who mentioned she had been ready for the medical doctors for over two hours, acknowledged that the matter was in court docket and dwell streaming the assembly can be towards protocol.
Ms Banerjee apologised to the folks of West Bengal and mentioned she was keen to step down, but additionally spoke of a “political color” to the protests.
Calls for
The five-point calls for of the medical doctors embody holding all people answerable for the rape and homicide – in addition to any destruction of proof – accountable and punishing them and taking strict disciplinary motion towards former RG Kar Medical School and Hospital Principal Sandip Ghosh.
They’ve additionally pushed for the resignation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and Well being Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam, amongst others; guaranteeing satisfactory safety measures for healthcare staff; and eliminating a ‘risk tradition’ prevailing in authorities healthcare establishments.
