Kolkata hospital horror: Junior doctors stick to live-stream demand, hardliners gain upper hand
Times of India | 14 September 2024
Doctors protest at Salt Lake Sector V KOLKATA: The hardliners among the protesting junior doctors seem to have an upper hand with them reiterating that they will not hold any meeting with the administration unless it is streamed live. The West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front (WBJDF) announced this on Friday evening, a little less than 24 hours after their return from Nabanna without a dialogue, citing the same condition.
Sources said there is already a difference of opinion between hardliners and softliners among senior doctors who are giving inputs to juniors to sustain their movement. While a section has been asking the WBJDF to scale down their conditions and saying that a dialogue with the govt could end impasse, another section has been leaving the junior doctors with a rider that they were with them in whatever move they make.
"A dialogue with the administration headed by the CM was a hope to end the impasse. While all junior doctors want to go back to work, most tend to go by inputs from seniors who have a hardline stand," said a senior doctor.
While the entire fraternity is in solidarity with the movement, some organisations, including IMA West Bengal, Joint Platform of Doctors West Bengal that has bodies like the Association of Health Service Doctors and West Bengal Service Doctors' Forum, Service Doctors' Forum and Medical Service, have been actively engaged in the agitation from day one.
While the juniors scaled down their demands to justice and speedy trial of rape-murder victim, which was part of their five-point demands, they stayed put in their condition of live-streaming of their meet with the administration.
"Speedy probe and justice which is now with CBI and Supreme Court must be discussed in the proper forum," a representative of the WBJDF said. On Thursday, the chief minister said sub-judicial matters cannot be live-streamed.
Even as their sit-in in front of Swasthya Bhawan is on for four days, they reiterated their demands and added some more suggestions. "Their demands are very much justified and their concerns genuine. We will continue to support them. But a cease-work for over a month will also impact their studies in addition to the causing gap in healthcare services," said another senior doctor.