Mamata Banerjee accepts demands but doctors continue stir

Kolkata: Desperate to rein in the worst-ever crisis in West Bengal health services, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that she has accepted all demands of agitating junior doctors and interns and urged them to return to work, but also gave a veiled threat of enforcing the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) if the situation does not improve soon. The protesters, however, refused to budge and return to work.

Patients continued to suffer as the statewide cease-work by doctors  demanding their security at medical colleges and hospitals continued for the fifth day as medicos turned down an invite for a closed-door meeting with Ms Banerjee at the secretariat.

Junior doctors’ joint forum said, “No honest initiative has been made by the chief minister. We will continue the agitation. We feel highly insecure and apprehensive regarding our representatives’ meeting with the chief minister behind closed doors. That is why we are not sending any representatives to the chief minister’s office,” said a spokesperson of the forum.

Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi also wrote to the chief minister on Saturday advising her to take immediate steps to provide security to medicos and find a solution to the impasse.

Ms Banerjee later said that she has spoken to the governor and apprised him about steps taken by the state government.

Keeping the door ajar for talks with agitating doctors, Ms Banerjee made it clear that she has not invoked the ESMA so far to protect their career. She also claimed to have accepted all of their demands before appealing to them to resume their duty.

Sending a strong message to the agitating doctors, the chief minister referred to the use of ESMA in 10 states, including the BJD government in Odisha in 2008, the Modi government in Gujarat with the arrest of 150 in 2009, the AAP government in New Delhi in 2015 and 2016 and the BJP government in Rajasthan in 2017. She said, “But this government is not negative. It has not taken any negative step so far.”

Ms Banerjee elaborated, “There is a Supreme Court verdict which can cancel the registration of doctors. But we have not taken that step. Since we still believe in democracy and humanity, we have neither imposed the ESMA nor cancelled anyone’s registration although five days have passed since the deadlock. We also arrested none and have not taken any action. We do not want to invoke the ESMA.”

She added, “But how long will it continue this way? We have accepted all demands of agitating junior doctors. We are ready to accept more even if there is any. But they must rejoin service. I request them to come to talks also.”

“They should not walk into any political trap or provocation. They informed us yesterday they would attend the meeting with us today. We waited for them but they did not come. The door for talks is open,” she said.

A drama unfolded when Ms Banerjee left her press conference suddenly telling the media that 10 junior doctors had come to meet her. After a while she returned and claimed before the media that they have agreed to resume their duty. It was not clear which from which hospital they had came from. Their representative, Abhishek Sarkar, said after a meeting at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, “Yesterday the director of medical education informed us about the chief minister’s invitation to Nabanna for talks. But we are concerned and dejected over her comments for the past two days and attacks on us at various medical colleges.”

He added, “We are very much doubtful about the impartiality and security of a close-door meeting at Nabanna if a handful of us sent there. That is why we are not sending anyone there. No one from us going to the talks. We are also concerned about health services. We request the CM to meet us here for talks.”

Meanwhile, Opposition parties in West Bengal attacked Ms Banerjee for “not being serious” about resolving the situation and asked her to apologise to doctors.

The BJP, the Congress and the CPI(M) blamed Ms Banerjee for the ongoing crisis in the state’s health sector and accused her of being more interested in scoring political brownie points rather than diffusing the tension.