RG Kar impasse: Meeting between junior doctors, state govt remains inconclusive

Kolkata, Oct 10 (IANS) The much-hyped meeting between the West Bengal government and the junior doctors protesting against the ghastly rape and murder of a fellow medic of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital remained inconclusive as the junior doctors failed to extract any specific and written commitment from the state government on the timeline by when their demands in the matter will be fulfilled.

After coming out of the meeting that started at around 9 p.m. Wednesday and continued after midnight, West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front (WBJDF) representative Debasish Halder said that the state government representatives wanted the protesting medics to call off their agitation till the end of the Durga Puja festival starting from Thursday, however, "when it came to giving some specific commitments from the state government on our demands, they refused to give us any assurance".

Presided over by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, the meeting at the state Health Department headquarters was also attended by Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar.

"The Chief Secretary wanted us to convince our seven colleagues who are on fast-unto agitation at Esplanade to withdraw from that. However, when it came to giving some specific commitments from the state government on our demands, they refused to give us any assurance. It seems that the state government does not have the minimum goodwill to resolve the problem at the earliest," said Halder.

The seven junior doctors, who are on fast-unto-death agitation that entered the fifth day on Wednesday, have claimed that they will continue with their hunger strike till the time nine of their ten-point demands that are within the limits of the state government are fulfilled.

A WBJDF representative said that they will decide their next course of movement for the coming days after going back to the dais of the hunger strike venue in Central Kolkata.

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