Kolkata: Protesters say they waited for 3 hours in front of Mamata's home but were told 'it's too late' for talks

The junior doctors, who are protesting in Kolkata demanding justice for the R G Kar Medical College Hospital rape-murder victim, have alleged that they waited for three hours in front of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence at Kalighat but were told 'it was too late' for talks by the government. 

Besides Mamata, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, Home Secretary Nandini Chakravorty and state police chief Rajeev Kumar were present in Kalighat for the talks on Saturday evening.

The doctors had arrived at the Chief Minister's residence on Saturday evening around 6:40 pm after Mamata herself came to their protest venue at Swastya Bhavan in Salt Lake, seeking to hold talks. However, both sides couldn't agree on the protester's demand for a live telecast. 

While the agitating doctors insisted on a live telecast of the meeting, the TMC government refused the demand. Mamata Banerjee, who stepped out of her residence, appealed to the doctors to join the talks. She promised to give them a signed copy of the minutes of the meeting after it was done. 

Mamata also reminded the doctors that Saturday’s meeting was arranged as the junior doctors asked for it and their email did not say anything about live-streaming. The Chief Minister insisted that the video will not be released now as the case is still in (the Supreme) Court. "Have faith in me. I will not mislead you," she said

She also invited them inside, stating she had made space for them. 

"The CM came outside and requested us to have a meeting over tea – but the junior doctors said that we would have tea only if justice was delivered,"  Dr Aqeeb, who was part of the delegation that went to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, told ANI.  

However, the protesters said they agreed to have the meeting without the live-streaming, a key demand of theirs, after discussions with the government. "We later gave up on the demand of recording as well and just asked for the minutes of the meeting. But, we were informed that there had been a delay and nothing could be done now. We kept waiting in the rain for three hours but at 9 pm, we had to return without any solution. All the junior doctors were disheartened," he said.

Many doctors were reportedly in tears while boarding the bus back to Salt Lake.