Following a breakdown in talks with the West Bengal government for the third consecutive day and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s dramatic offer to resign, protesting junior doctors have escalated their demands by writing to the President and the Prime Minister.
The doctors have been protesting since August 9, when a trainee doctor was tragically raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. In their detailed four-page letter addressed to President Droupadi Murmu and copied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Health Minister JP Nadda, the doctors pleaded for intervention. They expressed a dire need for justice for their colleague and for a safer environment to continue their work without fear.
The letter highlights a disturbing increase in “institutional threats, violence, and vandalism” since the protests began. The doctors appealed for the President’s intervention, describing it as a “beacon of light” during these trying times.
Earlier in August, President Murmu had condemned the rape and murder, expressing her dismay and criticism of the ongoing violence against women. On Thursday, a new round of talks was scheduled, but the doctors did not attend after their demand for a live telecast of the meeting was not met.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had been waiting for the doctors for over two hours, expressed frustration at the situation. She claimed that some protest leaders were instructing the doctors not to negotiate, as seen by the press recordings. Banerjee even offered to resign, citing her commitment to the public’s welfare over personal position.
