Amid Impasse In Talk, Mamata Banerjee Visits Protest Site, Addresses Doctors (Photo on X @SudhanidhiB)
Amid the continuing impasse over the Kolkata trainee doctor’s rape and murder case and the reluctancy of the protesting doctors to meet the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the TMC supremo today made a surprise visit to the site where the doctors are staging a sit-in demonstration. The chief minister addressed the doctors amid slogans, asking them to hear her for few minutes.
On September 12, the doctors, after reaching the gate, refused to enter the auditorium where Banerjee was waiting for them to conduct a talk. The refusal to engage with the state government came as the government reportedly did not allow them to livestream the meeting. The doctors have been protesting over the gruesome rape and murder of the trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last month. The junior doctors on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi and President Dropadi Murmu, seeking their intervention to resolve the crises and highlighting the lack of infrastructure to provide safety to doctors at the hospital.
Read Also: Kolkata: Protesting Doctors Write To PM Modi And President Murmu To Resolve ‘Impasse’
However, reaching the protest site today, the chief minister appealed to listen to her for five minutes while raising slogans. “It is your democratic right to do so. I have been waiting for a long time. Against the advice of my security officers, I have come here to salute your protests,” Banerjee said, adding that she has also been part of student movements and knows her post is not a big deal other than the protester’s voice. The chief minister also urged the doctors to return to work, assuring that the government will work on their demands.
“I have come forward by leading the student movement, I have also struggled a lot in my life, I understand your struggle. I am not worried about my position. It rained all night yesterday, you were sitting here protesting, I was worried all night…After listening to your demands, I will study them. I do not run the government alone, I will definitely find a solution by studying your demands with senior officials. Whoever is found guilty will definitely be punished. I am asking for some time from you. The state government will not take any action against you (protesting doctors). I request you to return to work… All the work related to the development, infrastructure, security of the hospital has been started and will be done further,” Banerjee was heard saying in a video shared by the news agency ANI.
#WATCH | Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says, “I have come forward by leading the student movement, I have also struggled a lot in my life, I understand your struggle. I am not worried about my position. It rained all night yesterday, you were sitting here protesting, I… pic.twitter.com/uZ7dThEJ77
— ANI (@ANI) September 14, 2024
Notably, following the refusal of the doctors to meet her for a talk, Banerjee, enraged by the protestors’ act, had expressed her readiness to resign in the “interest of the people,” claiming that the doctors wanted her chair, and not justice.
Read Also: Nurse Defends Herself From Gang-Rape By Mutilating Doctor’s Private Parts
In the letter written by the doctors on Friday, the protesters demanded justice for the victim while alleging an attempt to cover up the crime. The letter also highlighted the vandalism carried out in the hospital while calling for more effective safety measures for doctors at hospitals.
