Kolkata Rape-Murder: Doctors Continue Protest As Mamata Rejects Demand To Live Stream Meet, Offers To Resign

Junior doctors in West Bengal, protesting against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, continued their stir overnight on Thursday. According to news agency PTI, the doctors have vowed to keep up protesting unless their demands are met, defying a Supreme Court deadline for Tuesday.

On Thursday, the West Bengal government gave a 5 pm slot for a meeting with junior doctors to end the impasse over the RG Kar Hospital incident but rejected the protesters’ demand for a live telecast of the talks.

A video, as shared by news agency ANI, showed doctors sitting and protesting outside the Swasthya Bhawan.

This was the third offer from the state government for talks in the last two days, with the agitators rejecting the previous two proposals and setting concrete conditions for the meet.

While the government accepted the doctors’ demand for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s presence at the meeting, it turned down their prerequisite for a live telecast of the talks and restricted the delegation’s strength to not more than 15 people as against the protesters’ wish for 30 members.

Later, West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant told the media they allowed 32 junior doctors for the meeting despite earlier deciding on 15. “They are sticking to the demand for making the meeting live-telecast which is not important. The Chief Minister is waiting for the last one and a half hours,” he said.

Banerjee said the meeting with the junior doctors cannot be live-streamed as demanded by them because the issue is sub-judice and before the Supreme Court.

She said her government had made arrangements to record it and hand over the recording to them with the permission of the top court if needed.

In a dramatic turn of events, as the protests continued, Mamata said she was “ready to resign” for the “sake of people” and expressed regret over the junior doctors’ refusal to come for talks to resolve the impasse over the RG Kar rape-murder case.

Banerjee also said she wanted the victim to get justice and apologised to the people of West Bengal for the continued deadlock.

Referring to negative comments against her government on social media, the Chief Minister said, “Many tried to malign our government even on social media. People came out for justice but they don’t know that there is a political colour diverting it… They want the chair. I am ready to resign from my post for the sake of the people. I don’t want the chair.”

She also urged the doctors to return to work, emphasising that people are suffering, including those needing heart or kidney operations and women in advanced stages of pregnancy.

Later, Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said he would “socially boycott” Mamata Banerjee, stating he would not share any “public platform” with her.

“In solidarity with the Bengal society, I resolve that I will socially boycott the Chief Minister. Socially boycott means I will not be sharing any public platform with the Chief Minister nor will I participate in any public program which involves the Chief Minister,” Bose said in a video statement.

BJP CALLS MAMATA’s RESIGNATION OFFER ‘DRAMA’, TMC SLAMS GOVERNOR

Soon after Mamata Banerjee said she was ready to put down her papers, Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari termed it “drama”. He also alleged the Chief Minister was scared of facing tough questions and hence rejected the doctors’ call to livestream the meeting.

“Mamata saying that she would resign is nothing more than a drama. To get a chair, she contested from Nandigram, lost there and then went to Bhabanipur. She does not want a live telecast of the meeting over the fears of being unmasked,” Adhikari said while speaking to the media.

Slamming Governor Bose in an X post, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra wrote, “Excuse me? You – a deviant accused of molesting women within Raj Bhavan premises are telling Mamata Banerjee you won’t share public platform with her? India’s women will be better off if you never come out in public. Seriously.”

DOCTORS’ PROTEST IN WEST BENGAL

The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front began their march to the state Health Department on Tuesday, to press its demands for justice for the victim and better security at hospitals.

The group had said it would “consider” the order of the court, which on Monday directed protesters to resume work by Tuesday evening only if its demands were tackled by the deadline.

“Otherwise, we will understand that the government does not wish to end the deadlock,” the group, which represents about 7,000 physicians in the state, said in a statement on Monday.

“In that case, we will hold the government responsible for the situation arising across the state.”

Some of the demands by the doctors included additional CCTV coverage, deployment of female security personnel, adequate lighting, toilets, and resting spaces.

CBI QUESTIONS TMC MLA

On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned Trinamool Congress MLA Sudipto Roy at his residence in Sithi in north Kolkata in connection with the rape and murder case at RG Kar.

Sleuths of the central probe agency were also conducting a search operation at a nursing home belonging to Roy, the MLA from Sreerampur, an officer told PTI.

Roy is also the chairperson of the ‘Rogi Kalyan Samity’ of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

BJP YOUTH ACTIVISTS STAGE PROTEST

Members of the BJP Yuva Morcha also staged a protest on Thursday outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police (central division), demanding her removal for alleged laxity in the RG Kar rape and murder case.

Hundreds of BJP youth activists led by party leader Tapas Roy marched towards the office of DC Central Indira Mukherjee and demanded her removal, along with the resignation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal.

Police had put up barricades outside Mukherjee’s office on SN Banerjee Road and tried to stop the crowd.

In protest, the BJP workers climbed atop the barricades and shouted slogans against police.