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A day after the Supreme Court exhorted medicos in West Bengal to return to work, agitating junior doctors in the State continued their protest on Tuesday, demanding justice in the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case.
The junior doctors stated that they would continue with their ‘cease work’ till their demands, including justice for the victim, resignation of Kolkata Police chief and safe environment at workplaces, are fulfilled.
SC ultimatum
The Supreme Court on Monday exhorted junior doctors at the government hospitals and associated medical colleges to return to work by 5 pm Tuesday, failing which the state government could initiate action against them.
However, hundreds of doctors hit the streets and marched to ‘Swasthya Bhavan’, the headquarters of the State health department in Salt Lake, on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of the State’s Health Secretary and Director of Health Education (DHE), among others.
The demonstrators set a deadline of 5 pm for the state government to accept their charter of five demands, which included resignation of the Kolkata Police Commissioner, State Health Secretary, Director of Health Education and Director of Health Services, and staged a sit-in protest in front of the ‘Swasthya Bhavan’.
“If the state government meets our demands, we will think about joining duty,” said one of the protesters said.
Doctors, IMA unhappy with court direction
Earlier, junior doctors at the state-run R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital said they were “unhappy” about the Supreme Court directing them to return to work when they still felt unsafe at the hospital with no adoption of proper safety measures in sight.
Reiterating the same, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), West Bengal unit, on Monday said that it was “disheartened” by the Supreme Court’s order.
“No steps have been taken for a speedy trial to ensure justice,” the medical body said in an official release. IMA said it “promises to stand by” the junior doctors unconditionally in all their future movements.
The body of the on-duty junior doctor was found in the seminar room of RGKMCH in the city, on August 9. The incident has triggered nationwide outrage, with protesters from various walks of life taking out rallies, seeking justice for the deceased medico.
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