12-Sep-2024 01:31 PM
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Kolkata, Sep 12 (Reporter) There were no immediate signs of an early end to doctors’ protest in West Bengal as the state government and agitating junior medics on Thursday stuck to their respective stands and preconditions to start talks.
Meanwhile, the state government on Thursday convened a high level meeting at its secretariat Nabanna where all the district magistrates and superintendents of the hospitals were present.
After two attempts by the state government to bring agitating doctors to the discussion table failed in the past two days, the protest demonstration in front of Swastha Bhavan demanding resignation of the state health secretary and his two deputies continued for the third day.
The cease-work by doctors has entered its 35th day since it was launched after a doctor’s murder in R G Kar Hospital on August 9.
Meanwhile, the senior doctors have expressed further solidarity with their juniors, saying if anyone was suspended then the senior doctors would cease work at the Outdoor Patient Departments in the government hospitals.
State junior health minister Chandrima Bhattacharya on Wednesday evening rejected conditional talks with the junior doctors and reminded them about Monday's Supreme Court order asking the medics to resume work.
Bhattacharya said, "The government is willing to discuss with the medics openly for any positive solution for restoring normalcy but the authorities are in no mood to have conditional talk."
She said in a joint media conference with Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and State Police Chief Rajiv Kumar that the doctors’ plan to have conditional talks
was politically motivated.
The doctors have stuck to their demand for resignation of Kolkata police chief before joining the talks to end the indefinite cease-work at the government hospitals in protest against a young medic’s alleged rape and murder at RG Kar Hospital on August 9.
The medics' other demands include resignation of state’s principal health secretary and his two deputies, resignation of two deputy, police commissioners of North and Central Kolkata, arrest of those involved in the rape and murder of young lady medic and safety and security for doctors at government hospitals.
The talks should be telecast live to make it transparent and the doctors delegation should be 30 members as there are 26 government medical colleges and hospitals...////...