Chief Minister urges protesting doctors to return to work

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from a rally at Mayo Road, on Wednesday, urged the agitating junior doctors of Bengal to consider returning to duty urgently.

The agitating junior doctors have been holding a cease work for the past 20 days.

“From the beginning, I remained sympathetic towards the doctors’ cause as they were seeking justice for their colleague. We understand your pain. But please come back to work now since patients are suffering. We did not take any action against them although so many days have passed since the incident occurred,” Banerjee appealed to the agitating doctors.The agitating junior doctors who have been continuing to cease work, however, later in the day rejected Banerjee’s appeal to join duty.

A member of the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum said they would not withdraw the agitation unless their demands, such as justice for the deceased postgraduate trainee of the RG Kar, were met. The junior doctors demanded the suspension of former principal of RG Kar Medical College Dr Sandip Ghosh from the health services and the same action against the Kolkata police commissioner.

The doctor’s forum took out a rally in Shyambazar area in the northern part of Kolkata to press their demands.

“We are glad to know that the chief minister is supporting our cause. We want to return to work but that is not possible now as our demands are yet to be met,” the member of the forum said.