RG Kar protest: Junior doctors firm on hunger strike; meeting with CM Mamata today

Kolkata: Junior doctors in Kolkata are protesting the tragic rape and murder of a fellow doctor from R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. They announced on Sunday that they will attend a scheduled meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but will not agree to the government’s condition to end their hunger strike.

The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), which leads the protest, informed Chief Secretary Manoj Pant of their decision in an email on Sunday evening. On Saturday, the Chief Secretary had sent an email stating that the hunger strike must be called off before the meeting could happen. He also specified that only a delegation of 10 members would be allowed to meet and that the meeting would last no longer than 45 minutes.

The junior doctors were taken aback by this condition since it was not mentioned in a phone conversation with the Chief Minister earlier that day, when senior officials unexpectedly arrived at the protest site.

Currently, eight junior doctors are on hunger strike, including seven at Esplanade in central Kolkata and one at North Bengal Medical College & Hospital in Siliguri. This strike has now reached its 16th day on Sunday.

The decision to attend the meeting with the Chief Minister was made during a WBJDF general body meeting that ran late into Sunday evening. Debasish Halder, a key leader of the movement, stated that the front has outlined their 10-point demands in a recent email to the Chief Secretary.

"We will be elaborating our demands in the matter again on Monday at the meeting with the Chief Minister. We are attending the meeting without setting any pre-conditions. But fast-unto-death agitation will continue and we are not ready to accept the precondition set by the state government in the matter," he said. Halder’s wife, Snigdha Hazra, is among those on hunger strike at Esplanade.

Agency