The Joint Forum of Doctors has issued a formal rebuttal to Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s recent social media post, which attributed the death of an accident victim to a strike by doctors.
In a statement released on Sunday, the forum contested Banerjee’s allegations by presenting factual information about the incident in question. Banerjee had claimed in his post that a young boy from Konnagar in West Bengal died after bleeding for three hours without medical attention due to an ongoing protest by doctors related to the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital rape and murder case.
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The forum’s communique, which has been obtained by IANS, refutes Banerjee’s claims, asserting that the patient did not suffer a delay in receiving care. According to the statement, the patient initially refer from Srirampur to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and arrived at 9:10 a.m. on September 6.
The forum emphasized that doctors at RG Kar Medical College promptly attended to the patient and provided continuous medical care until the patient’s unfortunate death at 12:30 p.m., as documented in the provisional death certificate (PM No. RG2400791300, dated 6.9.2024). The forum also expressed concern that Banerjee’s social media post could incite violence and hostility towards the medical community. “Such statements are potentially dangerous and may lead to further unrest,” the communique warned.
The forum has called on Banerjee to retract his statement and correct the misinformation. “Political leaders must act responsibly and ensure that their words do not exacerbate tensions or lead to harmful consequences,” the communique urged.
In his September 6 post, Banerjee acknowledged the validity of the junior doctors’ demands but criticized how they conducted their protests. He suggested that the protests should avoid disrupting essential medical services. The exchange highlights ongoing tensions between political figures and the medical community amid the current protests.
