Junior Doctors Skip Talks With West Bengal Govt. Again

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government's fresh bid to bring the agitating junior doctors, on a ceasework for the past one month in protest of an on-duty post graduate trainee’s rape and murder at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, to the table of talks went in vain for the second time within 24 hours.

On Wednesday, state chief secretary Manoj Pant invited a delegation of 12-15 junior doctors to the state secretariat Nabanna at 6 pm to motivate them to resume their duty honouring the Supreme Court's order.

His letter reached the junior doctors after they ignored an invitation from the chief minister for talks on the same issue on Tuesday evening. The junior doctors held a meeting among themselves and set five conditions to attend the meeting with the state government.

One of them Kinjal Nanda said that the conditions include the presence of the CM at the meeting, the number of the junior doctors who would attend, would be 30. Besides, a live broadcast of their meeting has to be done but the cease work would not be withdrawn. But none of the junior doctors went to Nabanna.

Later minister of state for health Chandrima Bhattacharya said that the state government waited for the junior doctors. “Open mind and conditions for talks can not go simultaneously. Is there any politics involved in the ceasework? We thought that they would respect the SC order.” Mr Pant who was also present said that the state government wanted talks with an open mind. But the junior doctors' absence is unfortunate, he added.