About 45 RG Kar senior docs resign to express solidarity with juniors
Kolkata: About 45 senior doctors from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday resigned in a mark of solidarity with junior doctors’ protest who have been on a fast-unto-death since October 5 to convince the state government to meet their 10-point demands.
Shortly after the development, a section of senior doctors from other medical colleges, including Calcutta Medical College, SSKM and NRS Medical College said they too could follow suit. They said that if the demands of junior doctors’ are not fulfilled within 24 hours, they would opt for mass resignation.
Sources said the state government has not, however, accepted the mass resignation. Following Tuesday’s development, principals of three medical colleges in the city, including that of RG Kar Medical College, were summoned to Nabanna. Nabanna sources said that discussions took place regarding the ongoing works in the hospitals to enhance security. There was no information with the state government about the mass resignation, sources claimed.
On resignations, state government sources said that protocol was not followed. There are norms for submitting resignation. Even the state government is within its right not to accept the resignation. A doctor or a government employee should continue his/her duty till the government accepts his/her resignation.
After the government accepts the resignation, the individuals who tendered it will not receive any government facilities which are otherwise offered to its employees. Those who will submit resignations will never get a government job after the state accepts their resignation, sources said.
The senior doctors who resigned said that they would continue to work till resignations are accepted. “Tendering our resignation doesn’t mean that we will stop work from tomorrow. We will continue to work till our resignations are accepted. The intention is to send a message to the state government that they should hold talks with the striking junior doctors. This stalemate can’t continue,” Dr Sumit Hazra, a senior doctor who submitted his resignation, told reporters on Tuesday.
RG Kar senior doctors reportedly sent their mass resignation to the Director of Medical Education. Many have viewed the move as a pressure tactic against the state government. “Junior doctors have now started a hunger strike. Their health conditions are deteriorating. They are like our children. We senior doctors couldn’t sit idle and have hence tendered a mass resignation,” Dr Debabrata Das, a senior doctor from RG Kar told the media.
“We would be forced to give a state-wide call to all senior doctors in government hospitals to put in their papers if the government keeps dragging its feet on the just and pertinent demands of the junior doctors who are sitting in protest,” said Dr Manas Gumta, a representative of the Association of Health Services Doctors.
Junior doctors said that they would go to various Puja pandals on Sasthi (Wednesday) with a model of ‘Abhaya’ on a matador demanding justice for her. Terming it as “Abhaya Parikrama”, the junior doctors said that they would be asking as to when their Durga (referring to RG Kar victim) would get justice.
Seven junior doctors have been taking part in a fast-unto-death hunger strike. A symbolic 12-hour fast was held in solidarity by their peers across medical colleges of Bengal.
While junior doctors have been on fast-unto-death since Saturday evening, there is “no response from the appropriate authority to solve the issues”, a statement issued by the Joint Platform of Doctors said. “Junior doctors have withdrawn from cease-work and are providing services in all wards. They have started a hunger strike. If the government does not call the junior doctors for a discussion within Wednesday, we would submit mass resignation,” said a senior doctor from Calcutta Medical.
Meanwhile, state’s chief secretary Manoj Pant on Monday said that more than 90 per cent of all the work undertaken to ensure a secured environment in all government hospitals would be completed within October 10 and the government is expecting that by October 15 all the facilities will be made fully operational. He had also urged the agitating junior doctors to resume work. “State has already ensured a safe environment and all the steps have been taken. Works worth Rs 113 crore are currently undergoing. Out of 7,051 CCTVs which will be set up in various medical colleges, around 3,181 have already been installed,” Pant had said on Monday.
Junior doctors have placed 10 demands before the government — justice for the victim, removal of state health secretary, a centralised referral system, digital bed vacancy monitors in all hospitals, task forces in every medical colleges with elected representatives of junior doctors, deployment of police in hospitals, filling up of vacancies in hospitals, hold election of student councils, college-level enquiry committees to probe into allegations of threat culture and probe into the alleged corruption in the state medical council among others.
