Chief Minister Mamata was seen pleading with the trainee doctors with folded hands, while the meeting was postponed once again on the condition of video recording.
The physicians additionally sought permission for a videographer to enter the premises of the Chief Minister of Bengal to document the meeting. However, the Chief Minister declined this request. The leader of the Trinamool Congress referenced the Supreme Court proceedings related to the Kolkata doctor rape case as the basis for her decision to prohibit any official recording of the protesting doctors.
In the Kolkata doctor rape case, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee chose not to broadcast a meeting with the protesting doctors, who had been enduring heavy rain for more than an hour outside her residence in Kalighat. As the stalemate persisted, Chief Minister Banerjee remarked, “If you prefer not to meet without a live stream, you are invited to my home for a cup of tea.”
The physicians additionally asked for permission for a videographer to enter the premises of the Bengal Chief Minister to document the meeting. However, the Bengal Chief Minister declined this request. The leader of the TMC referenced the Supreme Court proceedings related to the Kolkata doctor rape case as the reason for not permitting any official recording of the protesting doctors.
The impasse between the junior doctors who are protesting and the government led by Mamata Banerjee persisted on Saturday, even in the face of significant developments. A group of doctors who visited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat ultimately left without having the anticipated meeting, as both parties engaged in a series of claims and counterclaims while appealing to one another.
I kindly invite all of you to enter and participate in the meeting. Due to the ongoing court proceedings, we are unable to permit live streaming. I will record the meeting on video and will share a copy with you only after receiving authorization from the Supreme Court, Mamata stated, standing at her doorstep and urging the students to come inside to avoid getting wet in the rain. “Today, you expressed a desire for a meeting, and I have been patiently waiting. Why do you treat me with such disrespect? I ask you not to demean me in this manner. On three previous occasions, I have waited, yet none of you showed up,” she remarked.
We will document the minutes of the meeting, and I will provide my signature. There will be transparency,” stated Mamata. Following this, the doctors gathered outside the residence amidst the rain. Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty, and State Junior Minister of Health Chandrima Bhattacharya departed from the Chief Minister’s residence around 9 PM after a prolonged standoff. Once the officials had left, the protesting doctors indicated that they had acquiesced to all government demands, including the decision to refrain from live and video recordings; however, they were informed that it was too late for such concessions. Earlier that day, Mamata visited the protest site at Swastha Bhavan around 12:30 PM, urging the doctors to participate in a meeting and resume their duties. The junior minister regarded her visit as a “positive step” and communicated with the Chief Secretary in the evening, expressing a desire to join the meeting as soon as the authorities confirmed the time and location.
The chief secretary wrote back with an invitation to the junior doctors to attend the meeting at 6 pm at the chief minister’s Kalighat residence.
Even after 2.5 hours, the deadlock couldn’t be breached.
The protesting doctors said they were going back to their sit-in and would decide the next course of action after consultations.
