The will they-won’t they surrounding the protesting doctors meeting the West Bengal government continued on Wednesday evening with the protesters responding to a letter by the chief secretary and making a list of demands for the discussion to take place.
The doctors have been protesting since a trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9 and Wednesday marked the 33rd day of the agitation. The West Bengal government had invited the doctors for a discussion on Tuesday as well, but they had rejected the invitation because it had come from the health secretary, Narayan Swaroop Nigam, whose resignation they are demanding.
West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant wrote to the doctors on Wednesday and, reiterating that the protests are causing inconvenience to patients and their families, invited them to the state secretariat Nabanna, “preferably” with a delegation of 12-15 doctors.
Responding to the letter, the doctors said they want to send a delegation of at least 30 representatives and want the meeting to be telecast live for “the sake of transparency amongst all parties”. Laying out the most important points, they said they want the discussion to be held in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and want it to be centred around their five-point demands.
The five-point demands include holding all individuals responsible for the rape and murder – as well as any destruction of evidence – accountable and punishing them; taking strict disciplinary action against former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Principal Sandip Ghosh; the resignation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam among others; and ensuring adequate security measures for healthcare workers. The demands also speak about eliminating a ‘threat culture’ prevailing in government healthcare institutions.