The protest against the violent rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital is a people’s movement, which neither the government nor the Supreme Court should ignore, claimed the protesting junior doctors as they vowed that their strike would last until all of their demands are met.
In a statement published late Monday night, West Bengal junior doctors stated that they would not go back to work before the Supreme Court’s 5 p.m. deadline set during yesterday’s suo motu hearing.
A spokeswoman for the junior doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the horrible tragedy occurred, expressed profound dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court’s hearing. “…the case has been transferred from the High Court to the Supreme Court, from the state police to the CBI. But justice is still out of reach,” the spokesperson said.
“We were expecting a positive outcome, considering the brutality of the offence. However, we are utterly disheartened by the proceedings of the court and the CBI. No action has been taken to expedite the trial and deliver justice to our colleague,” she added.
Earlier on Monday, the state administration informed the Supreme Court that 23 people had died, reportedly as a result of the doctors’ strike, and that lakhs had been turned away from hospitals. In their statement, the doctors further voiced their outrage, stressing that no actions had been taken to ensure that their colleague received prompt justice.
“We were expecting a positive outcome, considering the brutality of the offence. However, we are utterly disheartened by the proceedings of the court and the CBI. No action has been taken to expedite the trial and deliver justice to our colleague,” the statement said.
Earlier on Monday, the state administration informed the Supreme Court that 23 people had died, reportedly as a result of the doctors’ strike, and that lakhs had been turned away from hospitals. The doctors expressed disgust at being characterized as culpable for those deaths.
“It was also shocking to note the way junior doctors were portrayed as responsible for a few deaths in hospitals. This is completely false, and in no hospital, has service been completely hampered due to the junior doctors’ movement,” the statement said.
The physicians have also reportedly requested the resignation of the West Bengal Health Secretary and threatened to march on ‘Swasthya Bhavan,’ the health department’s office in Kolkata. During Monday’s hearing, the Supreme Court stated that protests cannot cost lives and warned the doctors that they would face disciplinary punishment if they did not return to work soon.
“If doctors do not resume work, then we cannot stop the state government from taking disciplinary action. We want to ensure that doctors resume work. They are part of a system to render service. We will provide facilities, but they have to reciprocate,” the top court noted.
