Dr Anustup Mukherjee, who was on hunger strike in Kolkata, West Bengal, was admitted to a hospital in the city after suffering from stomach ache. The protest of junior doctors sitting on protest entered the 10th day on Sunday. Official sources said Mukherjee was admitted to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of Kolkata Medical College and Hospital late on Saturday night. He is the third junior doctor to be admitted to the hospital in the last 48 hours. Before Mukherjee, Dr. Aniket Mahato and Dr. Alok Verma were admitted to RG Kar Hospital and North Bengal Medical Hospital respectively. It is known that doctors under the banner of West Bengal Junior Doctors Front are protesting after the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor.
The doctors submitted a memorandum of 10-point demands, which included strict punishment to those responsible for the death of the woman doctor and arrest of those involved in corruption in government hospitals. He has also demanded the removal of state health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam. About 77 doctors of Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital, Kalyani on Sunday threatened to resign en masse if the demands of junior doctors were not met. Hundreds of senior doctors, teachers and professors attached to 8 government hospitals have already signed mass resignation letters to express their solidarity with the juniors. In groups they have also joined in a symbolic fast with protesters at the Esplanade.
What does the Bengal government say on the protests?
The West Bengal government on Saturday clarified that the mass resignation of senior doctors in various government medical colleges and hospitals has no legal value. Alapan Bandyopadhyay, chief advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said at the state secretariat Nabanna, ‘These mass resignations have no legal value. Resignation is a matter of discussion between the employer and the employee in the context of specific service rules. If a person wants to resign from government service, the person has to write to the employer as per the given service rules. Such a general letter has no legal validity.
Meanwhile, doctors from 4 more private hospitals in the city (BM Birla, Woodlands, Peerless and Kothari) have threatened to stay away from non-essential services on Monday and Tuesday in support of the demands of the agitating junior doctors. He said that except emergencies, all non-emergency work including outdoor will not take place in these 2 days and future action will be decided on October 15.
