Meeting between junior doctors, Bengal govt begins at CM's residence

The first round of talks between the West Bengal government and the agitating junior doctors began at chief minister Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat on Monday evening to address the R.G. Kar impasse.

After four unsuccessful bids to initiate a dialogue to resolve the deadlock, a delegation of agitating junior doctors arrived at Banerjee's residence for the crucial talks.

Escorted by a pilot police vehicle, around 30 medics arrived at Banerjee's residence at 6.20 pm. The meeting, which was originally scheduled at 5 pm, began around 7 pm.

Previous attempts to resolve the issue got stuck due to the state government's rejection of the doctors' demand for live-streaming and video recordings of the meeting.

The agitating medics later agreed to a compromise, now only asking to record the minutes of the meeting and receive a signed copy.

The state government accepted this condition, with chief secretary Manoj Pant saying both parties will sign the minutes of the meeting and share copies for clarity.

The state government also allowed the two stenographers, accompanying the agitating doctors, inside the venue to record the minutes of the meeting.

"We also want the issue to be resolved but not at the cost of any form of compromise on our five demands. We are going to the meeting to discuss all the issues with an open mind," an agitating doctor, who is present at the meeting, said before leaving for the talks.

Meanwhile, the doctors continued their sit-in outside Swasthya Bhawan, the headquarters of the Health Department, for eight days and the 'cease work' for the 36th day seeking justice for the doctor who was raped-murdered at RG Kar Hospital and removal of Kolkata Police Commissioner and senior state health officials.

Earlier in the day, the state government "for the fifth and the final time" invited the protesting doctors for talks to end the impasse, two days after the dialogue failed to take off over disagreement on live-streaming of the meeting.

On Saturday, Banerjee made a surprise visit to the protest site and assured the doctors that their demands would be addressed.

However, the proposed meeting fell through when the protesters claimed they were asked to leave "unceremoniously" after waiting for three hours at the gates of the CM's residence.

Meanwhile, senior doctors of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on Monday alleged tampering of evidence in the Kolkata doctor rape and murder case.

Addressing a press conference here, they reiterated their demand for a live streaming of the meeting between them and the West Bengal government.

"We condemn all such heinous crimes. This crime is a fallout of the nexus between the West Bengal government and health department officials," said one of the doctors.

In a statement, the doctors have demanded that they want concerned authorities, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Supreme Court to expedite the investigation process and punish the culprits without any delay.

"We are patiently waiting for the next Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday. We appeal to the entire nation to join this protest for the retrieval of humanity. We implore everybody to resonate with our five point demands of justice for Abhaya," the statement added.