Kolkata doctors' strike:

West Bengal: Will striking junior doctors agree to meet CM Mamata ...

Kolkata: In a bid to placate striking junior doctors who refused to meet her at the state secretariat Nabanna on Friday night, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has extended a fresh invitation to them to meet her at 5 pm on Saturday.

As the deadlock continues to paralyse medical services at state-run hospitals in West Bengal over the last five days, the doctors are demanding an unconditional apology from the West Bengal CM.

VEarlier, five senior doctors led by Sukumar Mukherjee had called on Banerjee at Nabanna and offered to mediate to end the impasse.

The agitation had begun a day after two junior doctors were attacked by the relatives of a patient, who died at the Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital on Monday night.

Meanwhile, junior doctors have stipulated the following six conditions if the state government wants them to end their agitation:

1.      "We want an unconditional apology from Chief Minister Banerjee for the manner in which she addressed us at the SSKM Hospital yesterday (Thursday). She should not have said what she said. She should come to the NRS Hospital to meet us," said Dr Arindam Dutta, a spokesperson of the joint forum of junior doctors, on Friday. After her Thursday visit to the state-run SSKM Hospital on Thursday, the West Bengal CM had claimed that some outsiders had entered the medical colleges to foment tension. She had also called the protest as a handiwork of BJP and CPI(M).

2.      The West Bengal CM must visit the injured doctors at the hospital and issue a statement slamming the attack on them.

3.      A judicial probe into the police inaction in ensuring security to doctors, who were under attack at the NRS Medical College and Hospital on Monday night. "We demand documentary evidence and details of the action taken against those who attacked us," said Dr Arindam Dutta, a spokesperson of the joint forum of junior doctors

4.      Unconditional withdrawal of all "false cases and charges" against the junior doctors and medical students across the state for going on strike

5.      Improvement of security infrastructure in all health facilities

6.      Posting of armed police personnel to save them in case they come under any attack while on duty

​More than 200 senior doctors of various government hospitals across West Bengal have tendered their resignation from their services to show solidarity with agitators.

Also, the medical fraternity from Delhi, Odisha, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and other states have also started to rally behind their West Bengal colleagues.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had yesterday urged Mamata Banerjee not to make the "sensitive matter" a "prestige issue".

Also on Friday, the Calcutta High Court refused to pass any interim order on the strike. Many relatives of the TMC leaders too supported the doctors’ agitation.

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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has written a fresh letter to protesting doctors and has assured necessary action and full co-operation in the issue regarding the hospital violence.

In the letter, Mamata Banerjee requested the doctors "to withdraw the agitation as people are not getting treatment."

She also said that cancer patients, kidney patients and even children are suffering as a result of not getting treatment.

"I sent Commissioner of Police, Kolkata to talk to the junior doctors. Five people have been arrested and their bail prayers were rejected," Mamata Banerjee said in the letter.

She also said that an enquiry has been started to look into the issue from all sides.

Mamata Banerjee also said, "Our government has taken full care of the injured doctor. We pray that he recovers quickly."

Mamata Banerjee said that her government has taken all the necessary actions required and met "a section of the agitating junior doctors and appealed to them to resume services".

"Our government is giving full co-operation and taking all necessary actions," Mamata Banerjee said.

Mamata Banerjee also praised the senior doctors and professors, saying that she was grateful to them for offering full services to the people. "My humble regards to them for their co-operation," she said.

Mamata Banerjee also said, "Some misinformation being spread on social media by some political parties are completely untrue."

Mamata Banerjee appealed to the doctors to restore normal services to the patients "without any further delay".

Mamata Banerjee reached out to protesting students but is yet to get a response, sources have claimed.

Mamata Banerjee has asked the Director of Medical Education (DME) to get a group of students to Nabanna to meet her. However, the DME has not yet gone to NRS Medical College and Hospital to convince junior doctors to agree to the meeting.

A section of doctors still maintain that Mamata Banerjee should come to NRS first and listen to their grievances.

The protesting doctors in Kolkata have laid down six conditions for the state government to end the protest in the state.

They have also demanded an apology from CM Mamata Banerjee for her statements at the SSKM Hospital.