Doctors in West Bengal Seek Presidential and Prime Ministerial Intervention Following Brutal Crime
Kolkata, 13th September 2024: Following a tumultuous day of failed negotiations and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s offer to resign, protesting junior doctors in West Bengal have appealed to the President and the Prime Minister for intervention to resolve the ongoing crisis. The protests began after a trainee doctor was brutally raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
In a detailed four-page letter addressed to President Droupadi Murmu and copied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Health Minister JP Nadda, the doctors urged high-level intervention. The letter expressed their hope for justice for their murdered colleague and sought a safe working environment for healthcare professionals in West Bengal. “We respectfully present our concerns to you, as the head of state, to ensure justice for our colleague and allow us to perform our duties without fear,” the letter stated.
The doctors highlighted a troubling increase in “institutional threats, violence, and vandalism” since their protests began, describing the intervention of national leaders as a “beacon of light” in these dark times.
Earlier in August, President Murmu had expressed her horror at the crime, lamenting that it was part of a disturbing pattern of violence against women. She criticized the societal neglect of such crimes, referencing the ongoing issue of forgotten rapes since the Nirbhaya case.
On Thursday, the West Bengal government invited the protesting doctors to a discussion, but they did not attend due to the failure to meet their demand for a live broadcast of the meeting. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had waited over two hours for the doctors to arrive, offered to resign, expressing frustration over external influences preventing negotiation. “Despite the interest of some in the delegation, others were directing them not to negotiate, as observed during the press coverage,” she said.
