West Bengal CM Apologizes, Offers to Resign Amid Junior Doctors' Strike

Kolkata:West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday offered her resignation and apologised to the people of the state after her third attempt to bring the agitating junior doctors to talks and convince them to resume their duty failed.

Ms Banerjee also regretted that she and her Cabinet minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and top government officials waited for over two hours for the junior doctors to join them for talks at the state secretariat Nabanna, but no one turned up. She, however, kept the door ajar for talks.

Hinting at a political conspiracy, Ms Banerjee in the evening said, “Common people do not know there is a colour (political) behind it. They came forward to seek justice. I hope they now understand that some others don't want justice. They want the chair. In the interest of people, I am ready to resign as the CM. I don't want the CM post. I want justice for the victim and treatment for common people. If the patients’ families want us to give an explanation, we will be ready for that.”

The chief minister added: “I apologise to the people of Bengal and their sentiments...you hoped for a wayout. I also forgive those who reached the entrance of Nabanna but did not attend the meeting. I urge them to resume their duty and save the patients. I tried my best to sit with them for talks.”

Ms Banerjee elaborated: “Sometimes you have to tolerate it, which is also a test itself. Many of them belonged to different groups and wanted to join the talks. But there were two-three persons who were giving instructions to others from outside not to negotiate. We had that information. In Uttar Pradesh, a similar situation happened in February this year when strike was banned in emergency services. We have ESMA with us, but we will not use it.”

Responding to one of the demands of the junior doctors, the Trinamul Congress supremo pointed out, “Once live-streaming was allowed, because then neither the Supreme Court was hearing the matter nor the CBI was conducting any probe. This time an arrangement for recording our meeting was made... We cannot do what the SC can do because we are not the judiciary.”

Earlier, a delegation of 30 junior doctors reached Nabanna after getting an invitation for the third time from state chief secretary Manoj Pant for talks. They, however, refused to hold talks with the state government and sat down outside the state secretariat building when they were told only 15 of them will be allowed, as mentioned in the government communication, and the talks will not be broadcast live. They also questioned the state government's reservation against the live broadcast of the meeting.