Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government on Wednesday rejected junior doctors' demands for her presence and a live broadcast as pre-conditions for talks to resolve the month-long 'cease work' and standoff over the alleged rape-murder of a woman medic at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
As the protests enter day 33, and the sit-in outside Swasthya Bhawan for the second day, Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya said the government remains open to discussions but suggested that "political forces" might be influencing the protests.
This led to a quick rebuttal from the medics, who dismissed the claims as baseless.
Bhattacharya has called on the doctors to resume work in accordance with the Supreme Court's directive yet has avoided a direct answer regarding whether the state government will impose any punitive measures for non-compliance with the court's order.
Meanwhile, TMC leaders and MLAs issued veiled threats to the agitating junior doctors by calling them "anti-nationals" and saying the party too might conduct counter-protests against the agitating medics.
The government had invited the doctors to a meeting at state secretariat Nabanna at 6 pm on Wednesday but the invitation did not confirm whether Banerjee would attend it.
Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, in an email sent at 3.49 am on Wednesday, urged the doctors to send a delegation of 12 to 15 members and stressed the importance of resuming work, citing a Supreme Court order directing them to return to duty by 5 pm on Tuesday.
"You will, no doubt, appreciate and agree that as a law-abiding citizen, it is everyone's bounden duty to adhere to these directions. Unfortunately, it has not been adhered to so far," Pant wrote, emphasising the need for doctors to return to their duties to provide necessary care to the public.
Despite the invitation, the junior doctors insisted on several preconditions before agreeing to the meeting.
"We want the discussion to be held in the presence of the CM and be telecast live. We want at least 30 representatives as this movement is spread across various medical colleges and hospitals," a member of the junior doctors' forum said at a press conference.
The government, however, stood firm on its stance, refusing to accept any pre-conditions for the meeting.
Bhattacharya, alongside Pant and DGP Rajeev Kumar, urged doctors to resume duties, stressing the urgent need to restore healthcare services disrupted by the prolonged agitation.
"We were quite hopeful that the doctors would participate in the meeting. But they did not. No meeting can be held with so many conditions. We waited for them to turn up with an open mind, but they did not take any proactive step to resolve the situation," she said.
She added that the doors for discussion remain open, despite the doctors' conditions, but stressed that the government would not accept demands for a live broadcast or the CM's mandatory presence at the talks.
"We will again request them to rejoin duties as per the Supreme Court's directive and show respect to it. They must not forget their responsibility in this noble profession. They must not fall prey to the political provocation," Bhattacharya said.
The protests began after the body of a postgraduate trainee was found at RG Kar Hospital on August 9.
(With PTI inputs)
