RG Kar tragedy: Senior doctors urge junior colleagues to partially withdraw cease-work protest

Kolkata: Senior doctors in West Bengal have advised their junior colleagues, united under the umbrella body of West Bengal Junior Doctors' Forum (WBJDF), to continue with the protest and agitation over the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital but after the partial withdrawal of the cease-work protest which was resumed from Tuesday.

The senior doctors, however, left the final decision on the matter entirely on the junior doctors.

"The advice for partial withdrawal of the cease-work was given in perspective of the thousands of people coming to the state-run medical colleges and hospitals where the junior doctors are the backbone of the medical services system," said a senior doctor after emerging from the meeting.

Another doctor said that although the seniors have been trying to compensate for the absence of the junior doctors, "it is true that their absence is putting extra pressure on the services at the medical colleges & hospitals".

"So the proposal for partial withdrawal of cease-work was just advice from our end," she said.

However, till the time of filing this report, there was no confirmation from the junior doctors regarding their next course of action into the matter.

On Wednesday, a representative of WBJDF specifically laid out the conditions for withdrawal of their ongoing cease-work agitation that resumed on Tuesday.

"The first of our 10 demands is related to the protracted judicial process to ensure justice for the rape and murder of the victim. The fulfillment of this demand depends on the CBI and the Supreme Court. However, the remaining nine demands depend on how serious the West Bengal government is in accepting them. If the state government gives a written order on fulfilling these nine demands, we will immediately withdraw our cease-work movement while continuing with our protests," said a WBJDF representative.

Among the demands include the immediate removal of the state health secretary, introduction of a centralised referral system and digital bed vacancy monitor, and task forces based on each college with elected representation of junior doctors, among others.