Doctors withdraw fast, call off Tuesday’s cease-work after meeting with Mamata Banerjee

The doctors cited an appeal by the parents of the raped and murdered RG Kar junior doctor for their decision

Snehal Sengupta, TT,  Calcutta, 22.10.24 : The junior doctors announced around 9.45pm on Monday they were withdrawing their hunger strike. The complete health dharmaghat on Tuesday has also been called off.

The doctors cited an appeal by the parents of the raped and murdered RG Kar junior doctor for their decision.

The decisions were announced after an almost 90-minute general body meeting at the Esplanade protest site.

A state-level task force will have four junior doctors, a medical student who is a woman, and senior government officials and it will look into all complaints regarding government medical colleges and district hospitals, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said at a meeting with the protesting junior doctors at Nabanna earlier on Monday.

The composition of the task force was among the several issues discussed in the two-hour meeting that was attended by 17 junior doctors and also principals and medical superintendents of six government medical colleges in Calcutta. Mamata appealed to the junior doctors to withdraw their fast and return to work.

Mamata also iterated her promise of holding student union elections at medical colleges by March 2025. She also called on everyone to work together to bring back a safe and secure environment at government hospitals.

The chief secretary had called the meeting after he and home secretary Nandini Chkaravorty visited the junior doctors at the dharna manch and the chief minister spoke to the protesting doctors over the phone.

The task force announced by the state government on Monday will be headed by the state’s chief secretary, Manoj Pant. Its other members will include the director-general of police, a member of the state’s health grievance redressal cell and the commissioner of Kolkata Police.

The official government directive about the state task force, its composition and the standard operating procedure (SOP) will be issued at 3pm on Tuesday, Mamata told the junior doctors.

During Monday’s meeting, which started at 5pm, the junior doctors initially told the chief minister that they wanted 10 junior doctors and students to be part of the state-level task force on a rotational basis.

Debashis Halder, one of the junior doctors, told the chief minister that they were not informed about the formation, structure and operations of the state-level task force.

“We are yet to be informed about the function, structure and standard operating procedures of the state-level task force. Moreover, there is no representation from our end. We want at least 10 doctors to be a part of it on a rotational basis,” Halder said.

The doctors on hunger strike in Siliguri too broke their fast at the same time.

Halder, who was part of the Nabanna meeting, said: “The body language of the administration was not positive at all. We were not allowed to enter the meeting wearing protest badges. We were repeatedly silenced, our voices were stifled.”

The government took the doctors by surprise by live-streaming the meeting. The doctors said they learnt about the live-streaming only after they had stepped out of the meeting.

After the meeting, the doctors attempted to address any possible perception that they had focused more on the formation of committees, and their representation in these, than on the original purpose of the protests: justice for the RG Kar victim.

At Esplanade, Halder explained why the protesting doctors had devoted so much time and energy to discussing “committees, task force, and (student) elections”.

“We want to ensure that what happened at RG Kar is not repeated. College committees, grievance redressal cells at college levels, and the task force are crucial to that end.... Our demands are aligned to that ultimate objective,” he said.

At the meeting, Mamata told the doctors that the promised state-level task force would have four junior doctors, a woman medical student, and four senior government officials. It will look into all complaints relating to government medical colleges and district hospitals in Bengal.

The composition of the task force was among the issues discussed at the meeting, attended by 17 junior doctors and the principals and medical superintendents-cum-vice-principals of five government medical colleges in Calcutta.

Mamata appealed to the junior doctors to withdraw their fast and return to work.

“Please withdraw the hunger strike and go back to the service of the people. You have a future. You have exams. If your time gets extended because of the system, you will suffer. Why should you suffer?” she said.

“I want you all to pass out (graduate), so you can join the workforce.”

She added: “My request to you all is to withdraw the hunger strike. Take the initiative to bring back a healthy and normal situation and we too will take the initiative.”

Mamata promised student union elections at the medical colleges by March next year. She urged everyone to work together for a safe and secure environment at government hospitals.

The chief minister pulled up the principals and medical superintendents during the interaction. She accused the principals of playing “political roles”.

When Mamata offered tea to the junior doctors, many of them were seen refusing it. “Our colleagues have not eaten anything for days,” one of them told her.

The delegation that went to Nabanna arrived back at Esplanade after 7.30pm. A general body meeting started around 7.50pm. Minutes later, the lights on the stage were turned off to ensure “privacy”. The darkness lent an almost eerie atmosphere to a stage under constant spotlight for 17 days.

For the next 90 minutes, an air of anticipation hung over the site. The victim’s parents arrived around 9pm.

The junior doctors vowed to continue their movement until the victim had received justice and government hospitals had become safe for doctors and patients.

The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front has called for a “mass convention” at RG Kar on Saturday.