After more than two hours of discussions on Monday, October 14, no agreements were reached between Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and representatives from 12 doctors’ associations, including the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), some of whose members are on the tenth day of their indefinite hunger strike against the RG Kar rape-murder case.
The meeting at Swasthya Bhawan concluded without resolution, as the state government was reluctant to set a timeline to address the ongoing deadlock.
“The meeting was unproductive. We requested the state government to send someone — preferably the highest-ranking official — to engage with the young doctors who are fasting. However, the Chief Secretary indicated that he could not provide any deadlines," Dr Kaushik Chaki, president of the West Bengal Doctors' Forum, told PTI.
Speaking to reporters later, Pant mentioned that he had urged the representatives of the West Bengal Doctors' Forum to encourage their junior colleagues to end their hunger strike immediately.
"We had a detailed discussion lasting about two-and-a-half hours. Various concerns were raised and we took note of them. Regarding the demands of the junior doctors, we discussed them thoroughly. Out of the 10 demands, seven have already been addressed," Pant explained.
"For the remaining three demands, they were requesting specific timelines. These are administrative decisions that the state needs to consider, so we cannot provide a deadline at this point,” he added further.
West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant held a high-level meeting on Monday at Swasthya Bhawan, the state Health Department's headquarters, with various doctors’ associations, including the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The meeting included representatives from at least 12 doctors’ organisations, along with Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and other senior health officials.
However, the absence of Health Secretary NS Nigam was questioned by the doctors' representatives, who urged Pant to visit the fasting junior medics and speak with them directly, PTI added.