West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Wednesday stated that there was no positive response from the junior doctors protesting over the rape and murder of the Kolkata doctor at RG Kar Hospital, despite state government's efforts. This comes after the doctors did not turn up despite another invitation from the government to resolve impasse.
Earlier today, the protesting junior doctors sent an email in response to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's invitation to hold talks, wherein they demanded that a larger delegation of at least 30 doctors be allowed to participate rather than the .
Reacting to the doctor's "incorrect attitude" of insisting on dialogue on their terms and conditions, Pant remarked that "no discussion can take place with condition".
'No Discussion Can Take Place With Condition': Bengal Govt
Addressing a press conference alongside state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, Pant said: "We have mailed them today as well, we requested them to come and meet us today. We wanted to tell them what we were planning. Unfortunately, there response was not positive. The meeting was scheduled for 6 PM and just a few minuted before we received another email. They want 30 people to be present...We wat both sides to sit face-to-face and resolve the differences through dialogue."
"No discussion can take place with condition. We thought we will discuss openly. This attitude is not correct," he asserted. Pant also expressed that the government was disheartened when the doctors did not arrive for the meeting and responded via email.
"We are all educated people, and the doctors are also very good students. We are saddened that the students are responding in this manner via email. We believe and hope that all these students will follow the Supreme Court’s direction and return to work soon," the Chief Secretary stated.
The doctors stood firm on their demands which also included a face-to-face meeting with CM Mamata Banerjee, a delegation of at least 30 doctors, and live telecast of the talks to ensure transparency.
After receiving the demands from the doctors, the Bengal government had invited another delegation of not more than 15 doctors to state secretariat Nabanna for talks. "Once again as another opportunity, we invite your delegation--preferably consisting of 12-15 colleagues--to join us for a discussion at 6:00 PM today, ie. 11.09.2024, in Nabanna. A list of the members of your delegation may please be intimated by email," the letter signed by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant stated.
'Ready To Provide All Kinds Of Security To Doctors': DGP Rajeev Kumar
DGP Rajeev Kumar, who was also present at the press conference, stated that the police is ready is provide the doctors all the kinds of security they need.
"We do not want the doctors to be led astray. We all want you to return to work and improve healthcare services," he said.