Why The Sharp 'Left' Turn In Bengal’s Junior Doctors’ Movement Threatens Progress After RG Kar Tragedy

At first, the ‘ceasework’ by junior doctors of the 27-odd government medical college hospitals in Bengal triggered by the brutal rape-murder at RG Kar on 9 August had started spontaneously. 

It was an angry and justifiable reaction to the lack of safety and security for doctors and nurses at their workplaces and to the toxic work culture (threats, sexual exploitation, corruption and misgovernance) in medical colleges and hospitals of Bengal. 

The junior doctors’ agitation received unconditional support from all sections of people, especially the urban middle class, who were outraged over the rape-murder of a young postgraduate medical intern and alleged attempts at cover-up by the hospital administration, police, bureaucrats and Trinamool Congress politicians.

Bengal witnessed an unprecedented outburst of anger as masses of ordinary people took to the streets, protesting the decay in the state’s healthcare, medical education, governance, and overall polity. 

However, as days went by, leftists and ‘ultra-leftists’ infiltrated the junior doctors’ movement and have now come to exercise major control over it. In fact, according to some senior doctors, the junior doctors’ movement has been completely hijacked by the left. 

The Left Turn

The signs of this ‘hijack’ are evident. A section of junior doctors known to have close links with left and ultra-left bodies now have a decisive sway over the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF) which is leading the stir. 

“These junior doctors who are affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML-Liberation)), Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) (SUCI) and other such political organisations are dictating the course of the agitation now.

"They have hijacked the movement and are taking many decisions unilaterally or are imposing their will on the others,” a senior surgeon at the super speciality SSKM Hospital told Swarajya. 

The decision taken by the WBJDF on Tuesday (1 October) to resume the strike did not have the support of all the members of the Front and, in fact, a large number of junior doctors were in favour of continuing to work and carrying on their protest in some other manner. 

However, a vocal section of the WBJDF affiliated with left and ultra-left parties and outfits asserted themselves and imposed their will on the others. Of the 7,000 junior doctors in the WBJDF, only a few hundred have left or ultra-left leanings. 

“But they are very vocal and militant and have hijacked the organisation. They use various tactics to thwart contrarian voices and very cleverly impose their will on others,” a junior doctor of the state-run Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital told Swarajya. 

A large section of junior doctors under the banner of the WBJDF felt that having resumed work just about ten days ago, they should not resume their ceasework so soon. 

“Many of us felt we should give the government more time to fulfil our demands. We also felt that since the Supreme Court is hearing the case and our lawyer (Indira Jaisingh) stated before the court that we are fulfilling all our duties, we should not resume our strike right now. However, our voices were dismissed, and we were indirectly belittled,” a junior doctor from NRS Medical College & Hospital, who participated in Tuesday’s deliberations of the WBJDF, told Swarajya. 

The WBJDF was previously represented before the Supreme Court by senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, a Rajya Sabha MP from the (CPI(M). Indira Jaising's Left-leaning affiliations are also well-known. 

A scrutiny of the statement released by the WBJDF on Tuesday, explaining the reasons behind the decision to resume the ceasework, reveals the distinct 'left-turn' the Front has taken. 

A Confrontational Approach

While blaming the state government for delaying the fulfilment of the junior doctors' demands, the WBJDF also criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and even the Supreme Court. “That was a feeble attempt to appear even-handed, a typical communist ploy,” said the senior SSKM surgeon. 

The WBJDF statement read: “We realised just how slow the CBI’s investigation is. We have seen many times before that the CBI has been unable to reach any conclusions, allowing the real culprits of such incidents to go free due to delays in filing charges.”

Regarding the Supreme Court, the WBJDF stated: “The Supreme Court, which had taken the initiative to expedite the trial of this heinous incident, has instead only postponed hearings and reduced the actual length of proceedings. We are disappointed and angered by this protracted judicial process.” 

"The crime scene was clearly contaminated, and much evidence was likely destroyed. The CBI is conducting a thorough investigation despite this handicap. Even the Supreme Court noted progress, so blaming the CBI was unnecessary," said a junior doctor from NRS Medical College & Hospital. 

The junior doctors uncomfortable with the Front’s decision to resume ceasework fear that the Supreme Court may disapprove of the agitation during its next hearing on 14 October. 

“There was no need to criticise the Supreme Court. The WBJDF seems to be pursuing a confrontational path, not only with the Bengal government but also with the Supreme Court, which previously urged us to resume work and acknowledged our lawyer’s statement that we were fulfilling our duties,” said the junior doctor. 

A group of junior doctors opposed to resuming the ceasework informed Swarajya that leaders from CPI(M), ultra-left parties like the CPI(ML-Liberation), and left anarchist SUCI have gained significant influence within the WBJDF. 

“The proxies of these parties in the WBJDF are now calling the shots,” said a junior doctor of RG Kar Medical College Hospital. 

“Under Left influence and control, the WBJDF is leading us toward confrontation with the state government. We don’t want conflict; we only seek resolution through the fulfilment of our demands,” said a junior doctor from the state-run Medical College, Kolkata. 

A confrontation between the state government and the junior doctors will only suit the political agenda of the Left parties. 

“The Left has lost support and relevance in Bengal and is desperate to stage a comeback. The doctors’ agitation has come in handy and the Left wants to piggyback on it to regain lost ground in the state,” said BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar. He added that the left and ultra-left have “hijacked the movement.”

Critical Crossroads

The Bengal government is reportedly not planning to take any action against the striking junior doctors for now. Instead, to placate them, it announced the formation of a seven-member grievance redressal committee, signalling its willingness to address the doctors’ concerns about the healthcare system and its functioning. 

The ‘left-turn’ taken by the WBJDF will only harm the junior doctors’ movement and taint it with a political colour. 

Also, a prolonged ceasework will affect medical services in state-run hospitals and eventually lead to erosion of public support for the junior doctors’ movement. 

“Medical services will suffer and common people will face problems. Our movement will get a bad name. People were with us during our last 43-day ceasework (from August 10 to September 20) and everybody supported us wholeheartedly. Ultimately, the government conceded our demands like removal of the Kolkata police commissioner and started working towards meeting the rest of the demands,” said the lady junior doctor. 

The government's pace of work is slow, which is why the Supreme Court also reprimanded it. However, if we don’t give the government enough time to fulfil our demands, we risk appearing unreasonable, which could cost us public support,” she added. 

The WBJDF has presented a ten-point charter of demands, including measures to streamline the functioning of government hospitals, investigations into allegations of corruption in hospitals, and the holding of elections for student bodies in medical colleges. 

The government, on its part, has already signalled its readiness to meet these demands and has asked for time. Junior doctors resuming ceasework without giving the government reasonable time will only strengthen the government’s stance. 

A prolonged stir will also affect healthcare delivery services in the medical college hospitals which serve as the apex referral hospitals in the state and receive tens of thousands of poor patients daily. 

That will cost the junior doctors public support and make it easy for the state government to crack down on the agitating doctors. Once that happens, all the gains made by the movement will be lost. 

The WBJDF, thus, needs to step back from its hardline stance and shake off the influence of the left and ultra-left parties and outfits which have established a stranglehold on the organisation. 

Resuming ceasework is an ill-advised step that is likely to backfire on the junior doctors.