‘Final time…’: Bengal govt invites agitating doctors at Mamata Banerjee’s house at 5 pm today

The West Bengal government on Monday re-invited agitating junior doctors to chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s house in Kolkata for talks. The meeting is scheduled to take place at 5 pm today.

On Monday, in an email, Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant said representatives of the junior doctors have been invited to the meeting for the fifth and final time.

The official said in the letter that there won’t be any live streaming or videography of the meeting because the matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court. He, however, said the minutes of the meeting will be recorded and signed by both sides.

“This is the fifth and the final time we are reaching out to you for a meeting between the honourable CM and the delegates. In line with our discussion the day before (Saturday), we are once again inviting you for the meeting with the CM at her Kalighat residence for discussions with an open mind,” he wrote.

The doctors and the Bengal government are currently engaged in a standoff over live streaming of the meeting. While Mamata Banerjee’s government has refused to allow live streaming of the meeting, it said it would video-record the deliberations. However, the doctors claimed the officials weren’t ready to even provide the footage of the proposed meeting.

He said the delegation of protesting doctors will be expected to arrive at the venue at 4.45 pm today.

Responding to the mail, the agitating doctors said they would discuss among themselves and then announce their decision on whether to attend the meeting.

On Saturday, Mamata Banerjee made a surprise visit to the site where junior doctors were protesting and assured them that their demands would be addressed. The proposed meeting, however, fell through with the protesters claiming that they were asked to leave “unceremoniously” after waiting for three hours at the gates of CM’s residence.

Meanwhile, as the doctors refused to enter Banerjee’s house, she came out and asked them not to insult her. She said at least have tea and refreshments. However, the doctors reportedly told her they would have tea after securing justice for the victim.

Junior doctors in Kolkata have been protesting against the rape and murder of a doctor in the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The woman was found raped and murdered inside the seminar hall of the facility. She had gone there to rest amid her 36-hour-long shift.