Strong Public Support For Junior Doctors’ Agitation In Bengal Continues To Unsettle Mamata Banerjee

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may have thought that her weekend overtures to striking junior doctors of government medical colleges would take the wind out of the agitators’ sails and turn public opinion in her favour. 

But her obstinate stand on the demand of doctors to stream their meeting with her live in the interests of transparency led to an extension of the stalemate. And, if anything, it has further eroded her image and gathered greater public support for the agitating doctors. 

This was evident on Sunday (15 September) when tens of thousands of people from all walks of life braved incessant showers and joined the junior doctors in a march from Salt Lake’s central park to the site of their sit-in in front of Swasthya Bhavan (which houses the head office of the state health department). 

Processions and protests were held in other parts of the city as well by various organisations and citizens. Alumni of prominent schools, retired defence officers, senior citizens, lawyers, artists, and even hawkers and vendors held demonstrations and participated in marches demanding justice for the rape-murder victim. 

The growing support for junior doctors who had been staging a sit-in in front of Swasthya Bhawan for the past few days was evident in the many ways that citizens from all walks of life reached out to them. 

Residents of villages in the periphery of Salt Lake brought in cooked meals for them; poor hawkers who sell tea and food on local trains stayed awake a couple of nights to serve tea and snacks to the doctors; people from other parts of the city brought in food and water; and traders and businessmen supplied tarpaulin sheets, umbrellas, mattresses, and other necessities. 

Hundreds, including senior citizens and even the ailing and infirm, travelled to the sit-in site only to express solidarity with the junior doctors. A group of schoolchildren donated their pocket money while a group of cancer survivors wrote to the doctors, urging them to continue with their protests. 

The many rallies and demonstrations that Kolkata and other cities and towns across Bengal have witnessed over the past month have not triggered the usual irritation among people affected by such disruptions. People waited patiently for hours in traffic snarl-ups caused by such agitations instead of venting their ire on the protestors. 

According to senior doctors who are guiding the movement by junior doctors, the collapse of attempts to hold a dialogue with the Chief Minister Saturday (14 September) over Banerjee’s intransigence over disallowing livestreaming of proceedings has led to an increase in public support for the junior doctors’ agitation.

“I personally received calls from many people saying that the Chief Minister’s refusal to act transparently by livestreaming her discussions with junior doctors proves she has a lot to hide. No one believes her when she says that the matter is sub-judice,” said a senior doctor of NRS Medical College Hospital. 

Another senior professor at Calcutta National Medical College (CNMC) told Swarajya that Saturday evening’s arrest of Sandip Ghosh and Abhijit Mandal by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of conspiracy and destruction of evidence has only fuelled public anger and increased support for the agitating junior doctors. 

“The arrests (of Ghosh and Mandal) have strengthened public perception that evidence (in the rape-murder case) was destroyed and the crime scene deliberately contaminated in order to shield some others who are powerful. The arrests have strengthened the belief that there was a conspiracy hatched to botch up the case by the police and others affiliated with the ruling party,” he added. 

That is why Saturday’s developments are a severe setback to Banerjee. Ironically, she had planned to execute a masterstroke by going to the spot in front of Swasthya Bhavan Saturday afternoon where the junior doctors had been camping and appealed to them to discuss their demands with her and resume their duties. 

In response to her invitation, a 30-member delegation of junior doctors went to her residence the same evening. But talks could not be held because the doctors insisted on livestreaming the proceedings, and Banerjee refused to concede this crucial demand. 

Doctors waited for hours in the pouring rain, but Banerjee refused to budge. She even turned down a demand by doctors to videograph the proceedings by their own videographer, insisting that only a government-appointed videographer would be allowed to record the meeting. 

Banerjee stuck to her puerile and disingenious stand that the proceedings could not be livestreamed since the matter is sub-judice and the video recordings of the proceedings would be handed over to the doctors only after obtaining the apex court’s permission. 

A similar attempt at dialogue between Banerjee and the doctors earlier last week had failed over this very issue (read this). 

Legal experts told Swarajya that Banerjee’s rationale has no legal basis and there can be no bar on livestreaming a meeting between doctors and the Chief Minister where issues to clean up the rotten healthcare and medical education system in the state are discussed. 

Banerjee’s only assurance to the junior doctors was that she would hand over a signed copy of the minutes of the meeting to the doctors. Ultimately, the doctors agreed even to that, but by that time Banerjee had changed her mind and refused to meet the doctors. 

Sources said that was because she had received the news of the arrest of a police officer and the former principal of RG Kar Medical College, Sandip Ghosh, by the CBI on charges of destroying evidence in the rape-murder case. 

Upset over this development, Banerjee had reportedly busied herself with speaking to top police officers and her aides over the fallout of the arrest of Abhijit Mandal, the officer-in-charge of Tala police station, who had registered the first information report (FIR) 14 hours after he was informed of the rape-murder at RG Kar Hospital. 

Sunday (15 September) saw senior police officers reaching out to the junior doctors, renewing the invitation to discuss their demands with the Chief Minister. But the doctors chose to ignore the fresh invitations till their demand for livestreaming any discussions with the Chief Minister is conceded. 

The fresh invitations Sunday to the junior doctors show that the Chief Minister is on the backfoot. 

“Her usual response after two failed attempts to hold discussions with the agitating doctors would have been to initiate administrative action against the junior doctors. But she knows that the agitating doctors enjoy widespread public support, and any action against doctors will add to public anger and may trigger intense protests.

"She is also wary of the warning issued by senior doctors that action against their juniors would lead to their en masse resignations. That will create a health crisis in the state and will only complicate matters for her,” a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who had worked closely with Banerjee in the home department told Swarajya. 

Banerjee, who has always been adept at judging public mood and displayed strong political acumen, knows that public opinion strongly favours the doctors. Much to her chagrin, her calculations that public fatigue would set in and support for the doctors would erode over time have not come true. 

That is why she is restraining herself from being her usual authoritarian self and cracking down on the junior doctors for defying her and continuing with their stir. 

Also Read: Why Mamata Banerjee Refused Live-Streaming Of Meeting With Striking Junior Doctors