The second round of talks between junior doctors and officials of the West Bengal government failed to break the medics' strike over the R G Kar issue, following the state's refusal to give written minutes of the meeting, the doctors alleged.
After the meeting, the medics announced they will continue with their agitation and 'cease work' movement till the government issues written directives on the safety of doctors in state-run hospitals as agreed in the meeting.
While the protesting doctors consider the removal of Kolkata CP, DC North and two state health officials in during their protest as a partial win, Kinjal Nanda, one of the main faces of the protests has declared that no one is vying for the chief minister's chair, as per a report in The Indian Express.
The protest, in which several doctors have been actively participating in, has a few faces at the forefront.
One of them being Aniket Mahato who is a junior doctor at R G Kar who reportedly led the march that pressed for the resignation of Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal on September 3. The replica of a human spine was carried during these protests.
“In the face of our movement, the state government was forced to remove the Kolkata CP, DC North and two state health officials. We consider these steps as a partial win for our movement. It is a joint victory of all of us. There is not one person who is the face of this movement,” IE quoted him as saying.
Today, Mahato expressed that the doctors were feeling let down and they will continue their agitation till the directives are issued.
"We are feeling let down and disappointed with the government's attitude," Dr Aniket Mahato told PTI adding: "We will send an email tomorrow detailing our demands based on which the government has assured it will issue directives. We will continue our agitation and take a call on it if and when those directives are issued."
Mahto, who holds an MD in anaesthesiology and critical care completed his internship and residency at SSKM Medical College.
Kinjal Nanda is another such doctor who is one among the recognisable faces of the protest.
“Mamata Banerjee spoke of resigning from her position, but I believe such tactics are more effective in other political crises. No one is vying for her chair, and out of respect for the position, we decided to engage in dialogue. Even in the future, if we are invited, we will certainly attend,” he told the publication.
A postgraduate residency in microbiology at R G Kar, Nanda has also acted in films Hiralal (2018) and Byomkesh Hatyamancha (2022).
Lahari Sarkar who is a third-year junior doctor at R G Kar Medical College is another face who the publication reported as being at the forefront of the protest.
“I kept telling myself that we have the people behind us. We are fighting for the countless people of Bengal. So what if she’s the CM? We cannot buckle under pressure,” The Indian Express quoted her as saying.
Debashis Haldar and Amrita Bhattacharya are two more junior doctors who have been actively participating in the ongoing protests. While the former, who has been involved in many protests even before R G Kar has been getting threats, the latter who is a junior resident at Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences told the publication that incident had stirred something in her.
(With PTI inputs)