The junior doctors of Bengal, protesting over the rape-murder of a young doctor at a Kolkata hospital, have hardened their stance after the 5 pm “back to work” deadline from the Supreme Court. The protest has moved to the health secretariat, where they are now camping out.
The doctors had not only flatly refused to comply with the Supreme Court, they had also given a counter-deadline to the state government, saying it must meet their demands by 5 pm today, failing which they would hold a sit-down protest outside the health secretariat.
Earlier today, hundreds of doctors marched towards Swastha Bhavan, located in Salt Lake on the outskirts of the city. Post 5 pm, they started a sit down protest, saying they will not move till their demands are met.
The five-point demand includes the resignation of a string of people, starting with city police chief Vineet Goyal, , state Health Secretary, Director of Health Education, and Director of Health Services.
The doctors’ move has set them on a collision course with the state government, though Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that she is not willing to take action against them for now and would prefer to solve the issue through dialogue.
The government has claimed that patient care has been suffering at hospitals due to the month-long protests and that 23 patients have died in this period.
The doctors have denied the allegation, accusing the government of attempting to sabotage the protest. The junior doctors have pointed out that compared to 93.000 registered doctors in the state, their number is only 7,500.
In view of that, the government’s claim that the healthcare system in the state has collapsed due to the protest is a blatant falsehood, they have said.
On Monday, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had said the protesting doctors must resume duties by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, failing which the state government will be authorised to initiate disciplinary action against them.
At a press conference late last evening, the doctors had made it clear that they were in no mood to comply.