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Digpu Exclusive: Nationwide Doctors Strike Explained With Updates

Mamta Banerjee gave the doctors a four-hour deadline to rejoin service but later revised it to 2 pm that day. Warning of strict action against those who do not resume work, she said they will have to vacate hostels. This agitated the doctors even more, while they expected somebody to take a stand against the reprehensible act done against the Junior Resident in West Bengal.

India, Friday, June 14, 2019 —

The statewide protest was triggered after Pariboho Mukherjee, a junior doctor at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata was beaten up on June 10 by family members of a patient.

Pariboho Mukherjee, a doctor, suffered serious injuries to his skull when relatives of a 75-year-old patient, Mohammed Shahid, clashed with doctors alleging that the patient died because of negligence.

All Junior Residents across West Bengal protested against such unruly treatment being dobe with the doctors who are termed to be lifesavers.

Protests by the doctors following the attack on Pariboho at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal entered the fourth day on Friday.

Mamta Banerjee Threatened Doctors Of Dire Consequences

“I condemn the agitation. The junior doctors’ strike is a conspiracy by the CPI(M) and the BJP,” Banerjee, who also holds the health and family welfare portfolio, said and directed the police to clear the premises and only allow patients to stay.

There was high drama as the chief minister reached the state-run SSKM hospital here at around noon amid slogans of “we want justice” by the doctors. Stating that patients were suffering, she gave the doctors a four-hour deadline to rejoin service but later revised it to 2 pm. Warning of strict action against those who do not resume work, she said they will have to vacate hostels. 

This agitated the doctors even more, while they expected somebody to take a stand against the reprehensible act done against the Junior Resident in West Bengal. Whole Nation and all Doctors’ associations joined the protests and have shown solidarity with the other doctors.

Opposition And Ministers Slammed Mamta Banerjee For Her Approach

The opposition in West Bengal slammed CM Mamata Banerjee for her threats and sought her immediate resignation as health minister. “Is this a way to deal with the agitating doctors? Instead of solving the problem, she is blaming the doctors, the BJP and others. This is completely absurd. If she can’t control the situation, she should resign as the health minister,”  BJP Vice-President Jay Prakash Majumdar said.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan condemned the violence against doctors in Kolkata and urged patients and their attendants to exercise restraint. He assured that he will take up the matter of doctors’ security with all chief ministers of states and asked the doctors to ensure that essential services to the people are not disrupted.

“We will continue with our agitation till our demands are fulfilled. Our demands are simple… proper security with armed policemen at all hospitals, arrest of culprits involved in the NRS attack on Saturday under non-bailable sections. We did not expect the chief minister to say what she did,” a member of the delegation said. 

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief, however, alleged that outsiders had entered medical colleges and hospitals to create disturbance and that she was “abused” by the doctors at the hospital. 

No Solution Yet To The Crisis In West Bengal

Five persons have been arrested in connection with the incident, Banerjee said, adding that an inquiry has also been ordered to look into the complaint of negligence during treatment, resulting in the death of the patient.

Last night, the principal and medical superintendent cum vice principal of NRS Medical College and Hospital, Saibal Mukherjee and Sourav Chatterjee resigned from their respective posts. Stating that they failed to resolve the crisis, they mailed their resignation letters to the director of Medical Education Dr Pradip Mitra. It has been reported by sources that their resignations have not been accepted yet. They have not yet been relieved from their duties and they continue to work in the hospital.

Nation-Wide Protests And Complete Strike By Doctors

Scores of doctors across the country including the national capital have decided to stop work and strike for a day as the protest against the attack on a medical intern flared up in West Bengal. Apart from Bengal, doctors of Delhi, Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have joined the nationwide protest.

Patients are facing huge difficulties across the nation in the wake of the massive protest. Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi have called off work for the day over the attack on junior doctors in Bengal.

The resident doctors’ association of AIIMS have also urged doctors’ bodies across the country to join the token strike. Patients and their relatives are lined up outside the OPD at AIIMS. They are being told to go to some other hospital and get the required treatment done.

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