The doctors have been on protest since the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the government-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.

In the email sent to the protesters on behalf of the TMC government, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant wrote that “15 representatives” will be allowed to the meeting.

“Dear junior doctors, I am in receipt of your email dated 14 September 2024,” Pant wrote. “In this regard, you are kindly invited for a discussion with open mind at 6.00 pm today at Kalighat residence of the Hon’ble chief minister, government of West Bengal. A delegation of 15 junior doctors may kindly attend the said meeting.”

Significantly, the CM’s invitation for 15 representatives is significantly lower than the 25-35 that the doctors have been pushing for.

This invitation came in response to the protesting doctors once again seeking a meeting. In an email sent to the chief minister Saturday evening – hours after she met them at the protest site – the junior doctors said they were “grateful that you have shown an exceptional goodwill gesture by coming amidst us in this adverse weather and shared your thoughts with us”.

“We take this as a welcome step towards our smooth discussion and collective clarity of our five-point demands for which we have been protesting peacefully for the last 35 days,” the email from the junior doctors read.

“We are more than willing to have a discussion in your esteemed presence with adequate representations and proper transparency as agreed by both the parties. We are eagerly awaiting for your positive response to end this impasse. Kindly let us know the place and time of convention of the meeting,” the email read.

Earlier on Saturday, Banerjee and West Bengal DGP and Rajeev Kumar met the junior doctors at the dharna site outside Swasthya Bhawan — the state health department — and appealed for more time. During her visit, Banerjee told them that she would be ready to consider their demands “if they could trust” her but also added that she “needed time”.

“This would be my last attempt to appeal to you,” she said.

This comes two days after the talks between them broke down. On Thursday, the doctors refused to go inside the state secretariat, Nabanna, for a meeting with Banerjee after the government turned down their demand for a live telecast of the meeting.

Speaking to the protesters Saturday, the CM said: “I have personally come here to you. My post is not a big thing. People’s posts are big. I could not sleep last night. I felt the pain. You were sitting on dharna while it was raining last night… I too spent sleepless nights because I’m your guardian”.

She also appealed to them to return to work.

“If you return to work. I promise I will study your demands and talk to the officers. I will look into your demands with sensitivity. If you trust me, give me some time. I will take action against anyone guilty,” she said.

She also promised not to take action against the protesters saying, “Wwe are not the Uttar Pradesh police.”

“We need to probe anyone’s role before we can take action. It cannot be done overnight… If I can come to your dharna manch, trust me and give me some time. No complaint of corruption has come to me. If there is a complaint, we will investigate and give punishment,” Banerjee reiterated, adding: “I promise there will be no injustice,” before leaving the site.

Speaking to the media later in the day, junior doctors said they were open to discussions with the government “anywhere” but made it clear that they would stick to their five-point demands, which includes the dismissal of certain government officials and better work conditions for doctors.

“The CM is the guardian of the state — we welcome her visiting the dharna manch. We have been on the streets for 35 days. It would have been better to hold discussions earlier. We are ready to talk anytime and anywhere. But there will be no compromise with our five-point demands. We want to return to work,” junior doctor Aniket Mahato, who was spearheading the protest, said.

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