RG Kar rape-murder: Junior doctors continue protests defying SC directive, decline fresh meeting request from WB govt

Despite the Supreme Court’s directive on Monday for them to resume duties by 5 pm on Tuesday, protesting junior doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and other government institutions in West Bengal continued their agitation. 

Currently, the medics are staging a dharna in front of Swasthya Bhavan, the headquarters of the Government of West Bengal’s health and family welfare department in Kolkata’s Salt Lake

Earlier, they declined a meeting request from Narayan Swaroop Nigam, principal secretary of the health and family welfare department, stating that one of their demands was Nigam’s resignation. 

On Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant emailed the protesters, asking them to send a delegation of 12-15 representatives for a meeting to Nabanna, the state secretariat.

In response, the junior doctors outlined four conditions: they would send a delegation of 30 members; the meeting must be broadcast live; their five demands must be addressed; and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee must be present at the meeting. The chief secretary told the press that no talks can be held with pre-determined conditions. 

“Unless all our demands are met, we will not return to work. If the state takes any disciplinary action, we are ready to face that,” Dr Debdut Bhadra, a junior doctor of RG Kar MCH’s general surgery department, told THE WEEK at the sidelines of their dharna near Swasthya Bhavan. 

Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government in the Supreme Court, informed the three-judge bench, headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, that 23 people had died as a result of the junior doctors' refusal to work during their protest.

He further mentioned that many people, reliant on government hospitals for care, were being denied medical services because they cannot afford private healthcare.

The protesters reject the allegation, arguing that it's a tactic by the state government to divert attention from their movement and discredit it. They also propose that the state release the death figures from the same period last year for comparison. 

“If the state claims that people are not receiving treatment and are dying due to our absence, it only strengthens our demand for a complete overhaul of the state’s healthcare system. Why are government hospitals entirely dependent on junior doctors who are still in training,” asked Dr Bhadra. 

He emphasized that senior doctors in government hospitals across West Bengal are working tirelessly to keep medical services running smoothly. 

Protesters claim the state is questioning the competence of senior doctors and exposing the widespread corruption in the recruitment system, where undeserving individuals can bribe their way into becoming doctors.

Junior doctors further say their demand for workplace safety for doctors has also not been fulfilled by the state. Even though the CISF has been employed at RG Kar MCH, they claim security at other institutions are still the same as it was before. 

Dr Pabitra Bhowmik of RG Kar MCH told THE WEEK at the dharna in Swasthya Bhavan, “We don’t know yet if all the culprits have been arrested. If there are more people involved in the rape and murder of our friend at RG Kar then they are still roaming freely. In that scenario, how can we feel safe?”

Protesters are questioning why the state has still not fully implemented its flagship 'Rattirer Sathi' initiative, which was introduced to address workplace safety concerns for women.

At the same time, senior doctors and people from various parts of society continue to show their support for the protesting doctors.

Professor Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, one of the most eminent doctors of West Bengal, told THE WEEK, “These junior doctors have given us a new definition of mass movement. We could have never done this in our times. But I hope there will be healthy discussion soon between the doctors and the state.”