Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday dangled carrots and put on exhibition a stick for the agitating doctors before asking them to return to work as she was “against taking
strong measures” because she was not only “sympathetic” towards their demands but also wanted an “amicable” solution of the problem.
The forum of junior doctors of Bengal had been on a cease work in demand for justice to
‘Abhaya’ one of their colleagues who was on August 8 raped and murdered inside the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and
Hospital.
In an apparent backdrop of the Supreme Court order directing the doctors to return to work the Chief Minister said “I too am of the view that the doctors should resume work … please return to the atmosphere of festivities as Durga Pujas are coming … I do not want to take coercive measures and am open to talks … no action will be taken against the doctors … let 5 or 10 doctors come to me and we can always talks things out … but this endless cease work cannot go
on as the people are getting affected which the State cannot accept.” While she sounded accommodative for the doctors should they join duty and return to the talking
table she left a tortuous message for them even as she asked the Health Secretary to tell the Chief
Medical Officers of the districts to prepare lists of those who were not doing their duties.
“I have reports that many doctors are rendering services to the private hospitals and earning
money from there, living the poor patients at lurch in Government hospitals … I ask you to find out the things and prepare the list,” Banerjee said.
The agitating doctors said that this direction to the Health Secretary and “the so called reports of the doctors practicing in private hospitals is for our consumption … a message is being given to the district administration to falsely frame us … if she does so then she will be inviting a bigger outrage that she will not be able to handle.”
The Trinamool Congress has been under tremendous pressure both from within and outside with a number of party leaders questioning the “insensitive way” the entire thing was handled by the
Government provoking the civil society and the people in general to stage mass apolitical rallies.
