Stalemate Persists as Protesting Doctors Reject Mamata's Offer for Talks

The junior doctors, who have been holding a sit-in in front of Swasthya Bhavan, the headquarters of the West Bengal Health Department in Salt Lake near here, in condemnation of the R.G. Kar rape and murder case, have ignored a call given by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to come to the state Secretariat Nabanna and discuss their demands with her.

The protesters comprise senior and junior doctors, students in medicine, and representations from the nursing community. They have made their stand pretty clear that unless their major demands like suspending the Health Secretary, Director of Health Services, and the Director of Medical Education are met, their sit-in will continue.

A meeting with the Chief Minister in the presence of the Health Secretary and the newly-appointed Chief Secretary of the state, Manoj Pant, was called earlier in the day at the state Secretariat with a small delegation of the protesting medics from the office of Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam.

It was also mentioned in the email that the Chief Minister would wait at Nabanna till 7 p.m. on Tuesday for the delegation to come.

According to the latest information available, the Chief Minister had waited till 7.30 p.m. and thereafter left the premises on receiving no response about the arrival of the junior doctors' delegation.

However, the junior doctors at the sit-in site claimed they found the email sent by the Health Secretary's office 'insulting.'

"One of our main demands is the suspension of Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam. Yet, the email for a meeting on our demands came from the same Health Secretary's office, which is insulting," said a protesting junior doctor.

The Supreme Court had on Monday said that the doctors in West Bengal protesting against the R.G. Kar rape-murder were to resume their duties by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, failing which the state government would be empowered to initiate disciplinary action against them.

However, unnerved by the Supreme Court ultimatum, hours later the junior doctors vowed to continue their agitation and gave a call to march to the Swasthya Bhavan on Tuesday afternoon.