Taking exception to the “language of the email”, agitating junior doctors on Tuesday rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s invitation for talks at the state secretariat to resolve the impasse over the RG Kar hospital issue.“Your small delegation (maximum 10 persons) may visit ‘Nabanna’ now to meet government representatives,” the email sent by the state’s Health Secretary N S Nigam to the protesting medics on Tuesday evening had stated.
“The language of the communication is not only disrespectful to us doctors, it’s downright insensitive. We find no reason to reply to this mail,” Dr Debasish Halder, a leader of the protesting doctors who organised a sit-in before the state health department headquarters at ‘Swasthya Bhavan’ in Salt Lake, said.
The doctors conveyed that although “doors remain open” for talks with the state’s highest authorities, they would continue with their agitation till their demands are met.
The protesting doctors of state-run healthcare facilities, currently on ‘cease work’ for over a month to protest the alleged rape and murder of the RG Kar hospital medic, defied the 5 pm deadline set by the Supreme Court to return to work, and conveyed their intentions to stay put before the ‘Swasthya Bhavan’ and keep pressing for their demands.
In “clean up Swasthya Bhavan” march earlier in the day, the stirring doctors demanded the resignations of the Health Secretary, Director of Health Education (DHE), and Director of Health Services (DHS), besides pressing for marching orders of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal as part of their five-point demand charter.