Bengal Govt Rejects Live Telecast, Limits Delegation to 15 for 5pm Meet with CM Mamata Banerjee

Bengal Govt Rejects Live Telecast, Limits Delegation to 15 for 5pm Meet with CM Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, on Thursday, issued a fresh appeal to junior doctors protesting the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor to hold discussions with the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at 5 pm, as the protest seriously affected health care services across state-run hospitals for 34 days in a row.

While denying the demand of the doctors to telecast the meeting live, the government agreed to record the entire proceeding to ensure transparency. In his letter, Pant confirmed the participation of Chief Minister and restricted the size of the delegation to 15 doctors.

“The meeting shall not be live telecast. However, it can be recorded to ensure transparency, serving the purpose of accuracy while maintaining the sanctity of the discussions,” Pant said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party promptly assailed the government for refusing permission to relay the meeting live. Its IT cell chief Amit Malviya was skeptical, citing past concerns about how evidence in the case was handled: crucial documents such as the vaginal swab and post-mortem challan were missing. “How does the government expect the junior doctors to trust them?” Malviya tweeted on X.

The protests erupted after the body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor from RG Kar Medical College was recovered on August 9 and health workers, especially doctors, took to the streets in outrage.

The junior doctors, who sat on dharna outside the West Bengal Health Department’s Salt Lake office, have demanded justice, as well as better security for female healthcare workers, along with the suspension of all key officials, including the Kolkata Police Commissioner.

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The government had earlier invited the doctors for talks, but the agitating doctors had insisted that the chief minister must be present and the meeting should be live-streamed so that transparency is maintained.

They have been denying again and again political vendetta, saying their movement was against the assault on their colleague seeking justice. The case has been under investigation by CBI following an order from the High Court in Calcutta.