Protests Continue As West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum Fails To Reach Agreement With State Government

The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum (WBJDF), representing medical professionals protesting the tragic rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, announced that it will persist with its ‘cease work’ demonstration following a meeting with Chief Secretary Manoj Pant that ended without resolution.

The crucial meeting, which began at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, lasted just over two hours. However, negotiations over the meeting’s official minutes extended for an additional three hours, highlighting significant disagreements between the WBJDF and state officials.

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WBJDF representatives emerged from the state Secretariat shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, expressing frustration over the government’s refusal to document the meeting’s outcomes. A spokesperson stated, “The state government provided us with verbal assurances regarding some of our unresolved demands, but they declined to record these agreements. The Chief Secretary suggested we send a draft of the minutes via email, which we will discuss at our demonstration site later today.”

Members of the delegation voiced their disappointment, emphasizing the lack of written commitments. “The outcome of the meeting was highly frustrating since we just received verbal assurances. There was no written guarantee,” one member remarked.

As of the time of reporting, there was no official response from the state government representatives regarding the proceedings of the meeting. The WBJDF plans to convene a general body meeting at the demonstration site in front of the state Health Department headquarters in Salt Lake to determine their next steps in the ongoing protests.