“I HAVE removed the Commissioner of Police (CP), the Director of Medical Education (DME) and the Director of Health Services (DHS), but cannot remove everyone…need four months to consider other demands, including elections. Please withdraw your hunger strike.” With these words, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday reached out to the junior doctors who have been protesting against the government’s handling of the R G Kar rape and murder case.

Banerjee, who spoke to the doctors over the phone earlier, also urged them to withdraw their hunger strike. Additionally, she also said that she was ready to hold talks with the junior doctors at Nabanna on Monday.

However, later in the day, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant wrote to the junior doctors and said that even as the government is ready for talks on Monday, they should withdraw their hunger strike at the earliest, and before the meeting with the Chief Minister.

As the “indefinite” hunger strike announced by six junior doctors completed two weeks on Saturday, state Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty reached the protest venue at Esplanade. Pant then dialled Mamata Banerjee, who spoke to the doctors through his phone.

The junior doctors, meanwhile, said that they wanted to hold direct talks with the CM. “During our talks with the CM, we realised that our movement has no importance to the administration and we were humiliated,” a junior doctor said.   “Why is the CM saying that we are responsible for disrupting health services? We are sticking to our demands and want the problems to be resolved,” the doctor stated. On Friday, the junior doctors gave the state government time till Monday to meet their demands, failing which they had warned of a statewide strike on Tuesday.