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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has offered to resign “for the sake of people” and said she also want justice for the murdered RG Kar hospital doctor.
“I apologise to the people of Bengal who expected an end to the RG Kar impasse today. They (junior doctors) came to Nabanna but did not sit for the meeting. I request them to go back to work,” Banerjee told a press conference.
“I am ready to resign for the sake of the people as, despite my best intentions and efforts in the last three days, the medics declined to hold talks,” the chief minister said.
Later quoted by ANI, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “I tried my best to sit with the junior doctors. I waited 3 days for them that they should have come and settle their problem. Even when they didn’t accept the verdict of the Supreme Court, I waited 3 days with my highest officials, including Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, DG and my MoS. I am sorry. I apologize to the people of this country and the world who are supporting them (doctors), please give your support. I don’t have any problem. We want justice for the common people. We want justice for the treatment of common people. We want that as per Supreme Court instruction they must join their duty. Though, 3 days passed after the Supreme Court verdict but we are not taking any disciplinary action because sometimes we have to tolerate. It is our duty to tolerate sometimes…”
Earlier, In a dramatic turn of events, agitating junior doctors have refused to join the Bengal government’s proposal for talks in presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee so far to resolve the RG Kar hospital impasse after the state rejected their demand for live streaming of the meeting.
The protestors who reached the secretariat at around 5.25 pm, some 25 minutes past the scheduled time of commencement of the meeting, stayed put at the venue threshold for over an hour and were seen engaged in meetings even as a high-strung battle of nerves ensued between the two sides with both staying firm on their respective stands.
Senior police officials at the venue, including DGP Rajeev Kumar, ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar and even state chief secretary Manoj Pant, who were seen engaged in back-to-back discussions with the doctors’ delegation and other officials, failed to convince the unrelenting doctors who refused to budge.
All this while, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was reportedly waiting at the venue to take part in the meeting.
“We had conveyed in our letter that live streaming will not be possible but had given our assurances that we would have the whole session recorded for documentation and posterity. The chief minister is waiting for them for the last hour and half. There should be a limit to such demands. We have tried to convince the doctors but they have still not accepted. We request them to consider attending this meeting,” said chief secretary Pant
