Doctors refuse to meet Mamata Banerjee without livestream

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee waits at the state secretariat Nabanna before speaking to protesting junior doctors over the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on September 12, 2024. | Image credit: PTI

In a dramatic standoff at the West Bengal state secretariat on Thursday (September 12, 2024), striking junior doctors from government hospitals arrived for talks with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but then refused to enter the hall as the government did not allow them to live stream the meeting.

The doctors said their demand was to ensure transparency. However, the government insisted that the meeting could not be streamed or televised live as the protest was sparked by the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and it was a case pending before the courts.

Follow LIVE updates from Kolkata doctors protest on September 12, 2024

Ms Banerjee waited for about two hours at the Nabanna Sabhaghar, the Secretariat, and left the building after addressing reporters. “I tried my best to sit with junior doctors. I waited for three days with my top officials,” the chief minister said.

She said she would not use her powers under the Essential Services Maintenance Act to force the protesting doctors to end their strike, but instead appealed to junior doctors to return to work. She pointed out that 27 out of 700,000 patients denied treatment due to the strike had died last month. She claimed the protesters did not want justice but “their chair”, adding that she would not hesitate to resign if it was in the interest of the people.

Striving for transparency

The doctors said live streaming the meeting would help ensure transparency. “We have not made any unjustified demands. The demand for live streaming was to maintain transparency. If there can be multiple press conferences on the incident, then what is the problem with live streaming?” asked one of the protesting doctors, adding that the CM's remark that the protesters “want her chair” was unfortunate.

A group of about 30 junior doctors had arrived at the Secretariat in a bus on Thursday evening. Senior state officials, including Chief Minister Manoj Pant, tried in vain to persuade them to attend the meeting without trembling. After the Chief Minister left the Secretariat, the protesting doctors too returned to their protest site at Swastha Bhawan, the headquarters of the state health department. The doctors, however, said they were still open to further talks.

Stalled talks

On Monday, the Supreme Court had said it could not stop the state government from taking action against the doctors if they did not resume work by 5 pm on Tuesday. The junior doctors, who have been on strike since August 9 when the junior doctor's body was found, led a march to Swastha Bhawan on Tuesday and raised fresh demands before resuming work.

The protesting doctors want the resignation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and demand action against senior officials of the West Bengal government. They also demanded increased security for health workers and an end to the “culture of threat” in hospitals and medical colleges across West Bengal.

The Chief Secretary, Mr Pant, sent a fresh email to the protesting doctors around 2 pm on Thursday, asking them to come to the state secretariat in groups of about 12 to 15 people. The doctors responded within a few hours and about 30 protesting doctors arrived at the state secretariat but then refused to meet the chief minister.

Over the past two days, the state government and the protesting doctors have exchanged emails, but there has been no progress in their negotiations. With talks not getting off the ground at all on Thursday, the impasse is likely to continue.