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Junior doctors from NRS Medical Colelge have agreed to meet West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in the presence of media.The Indian Medical Association (IMA) will hold a 24-hour nationwide strike on Monday, the medical practitioners’ body confirmed, speaking to The Quint.
Meanwhile, as the protests continue in West Bengal and across the nation, health ministry sources said that over 300 doctors have resigned till now from across West Bengal.
Members of AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association met Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday, 14 June. Vardhan has assured the doctors that he will look into their demands.
Doctors in major cities across the country – Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad – on Friday, protested and boycotted work in a show of solidarity with their protesting colleagues in Kolkata.
On Thursday, Professor Saibal Kumar Mukherjee and Professor Saurabh Chattopadhyay resigned as the Principal and Medical Superintendent/vice principal, respectively, of NRS Medical College and Hospital.
- A deadly assault on junior doctors in Kolkata’s NRS Medical College and Hospital had triggered the backlash
- Mukhopadhyay, one of the injured interns, wound up with a fractured skull and is currently in coma, while Tekhwani, the other, is admitted in the ICU
- Heavy force has been deployed at the NRS and SSKM Hospitals
- Despite the CM’s warning, the protesters were seen continuing with their agitation at the SSKM hospital
Junior Doctors Agree to Meet With West Bengal CM
Junior doctors agree to meeting with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, say it should be open for media coverage.
“We want an immediate end to this impasse by discussion with the CM, which, to maintain transparency, shouldn't be behind closed doors, but open to media under camera coverage,” the doctors said to ANI.
IMA to Hold 24-Hour Nationwide Strike on Monday
IMA to hold 24-hour strike on Monday. All Non-Essential Services including Outpatient Departments(OPD) will be closed from 6 am tomorrow. Members of the IMA will also stage a dharna at IMA headquarters in Delhi starting 10 am tomorrow.
As Strike Enters 6th Day, Venue for Talks With CM Yet to Be Decided
The impasse at the state-run medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal entered the sixth day on Sunday, even as the agitating doctors asserted that they were open to talks with the government, the venue for which would be decided by a governing body of medical practitioners.
Earlier, the agitators had insisted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visit the city's NRS Medical College and Hospital, the epicentre of the agitation.
After an internal meeting late on Saturday, the doctors, who had turned down an invite for a closed-door meeting with Banerjee at the state secretariat, mellowed down and stated that they were ready to hold a dialogue in any form, but the venue of the meeting would be decided later.
"We will be deciding on our next step during a governing body meeting today. We are open to any dialogue as always. The venue for the meeting will be decided soon," a spokesperson of a joint forum of junior doctors told reporters here.
(With inputs from PTI)
'Ego Fight For CM, Fight For Survival For Us': Junior Doctors At NRS
After refusing to meet the Chief Minister, junior doctors of NRS, in a statement to the press, termed the issue an ‘ego fight’ for the Chief Minister.
“This has become an ego fight for the CM but for us it's a fight for survival. We wanted her to meet the assaulted doctor Paribaha Mukhopadhyay. It wasn’t a spontaneous attack, it was a planned attack”, said a representative of the doctors.
“CM invited us for a closed door meeting at Nabanna. The entire state is with us, how can we attend a closed door meeting? We're open to end this stalemate. If a meeting is to be held, we'll discuss venue in general body meeting to be held tonight. The Chief Minister compared our job with that of Police. We respect the Police but they are trained and armed to tackle attacks. We are not trained. Our occupational hazard is, being affected by Hepatitis and HIV while treating patients, but we never complained or sat on a dharna for this. This (attack on doctor) can't be termed as an occupational hazard”, he added.