Kolkata: A day after the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF) called off the fast-unto-death protest, they said they will continue their movement until justice is served for their colleague and their unmet demands from the state are addressed. While the forms of the further movement are expected to emerge after a mass convention slated on Saturday, many campuses held their own meetings on Tuesday.
Junior and senior doctors also said they are looking for ways to counter the culture of threats on medical college campuses, specifically after the chief minister’s instruction during the Monday meeting, which was followed by the Tuesday high court order staying the suspension of 47 junior doctors and students at R G Kar Medical College.
“The first and foremost demand for the movement was speedy justice for Abhaya. Hence, we will continue our movement for justice and the few demands that the state govt has not met. We expect the shape of the movement and different activities to emerge from the upcoming mass convention at R G Kar Medical College,” said Trinesh Mondal, a junior doctor.
Junior doctors said that even though they left the dharna mancha at Esplanade, where they were protesting for nearly three weeks, the protest manchas on their respective campuses will remain for now. “On a micro level, we will also be holding protests at regular intervals, especially against threat cultures, so that the individuals engaged in polluting the campus atmosphere are reminded that we are guarding the campus against such activities,” said a junior student at NRS Medical College.
In fact, on Tuesday, the college council at R G Kar, which has representatives from junior doctors, convened a lengthy meeting to discuss the stay order on the suspension of the 47. The junior doctors said that the state counsel did not represent the case properly in the high court, and they are preparing for better representation for the next hearing.
“The college campus became so toxic in the past couple of years with the previous dispensation not entertaining any kind of complaint against a group engaged in all kinds of notorious activities, including forceful collection of money and mental and physical harassment of students. Hence, we will be taking all steps to ensure such activities do not return to the campus. We will soon chart out such steps,” said a junior doctor at R G Kar Medical College.
Sources in the WBJDF said they have started working on the modalities of nominating their representation to the State Level Task Force. In addition to the Saturday mass convention, the junior doctors said they will plan other mass connect events, and the core members of the front will be meeting online at regular intervals to develop such plans to keep their movement alive.