There was high drama for more than one-and-a-half hours by both the state government and agitating junior doctors, in front of the Nabanna Sabhaghar where the much-awaited meeting between chief minister Mamata Banerjee and delegation of the protestors was scheduled to be held around 5 pm on Thursday.

The talks were planned to solve the 34-day impasse arising out of the gruesome rape and murder of the 31-year-old woman doctor at R G Kar hospital.

The junior doctors, including postgraduate trainee (PGT) doctors, house staff and interns of government medical colleges and hospitals across the state have been organizing cease-work programmes in outpatients departments (OPDs) followed by their recent sit-in front of the Swasthya Bhawan.

The doctors are demanding justice, resignation of city police commissioner, principal secretary of health department, director of medical education (DME) Prof Kaustav Nayek and director of health services (DHS) Dr Debashis Halder.

The drama started around 5.25 pm, when an AC bus carrying 30-odd members, including six female medics, reached Nabanna Sabhaghar. Getting down from the bus they shouted slogans ‘we want justice’ and reached the main gate of the Sabhaghar where senior police officials were waiting.

They were asked to sign their names and medical colleges on a register.

The drama reached its climax when the government refused to live stream the meeting, one of the agitating doctors’ preconditions. They refused to enter the venue, where the chief minister and her cabinet colleague Chandrima Bhattacharya were waiting.

The delegates stuck to their stand demanding the live streaming of the entire meeting but the government refused. The government allowed 30-plus doctors, instead 15 delegates what was preconditioned in its email sent by the chief secretary Manoj Pant to the junior doctors belonging to the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front.

Miss Banerjee sent her top brass like Mr Pant, home secretary Nandini Chakraborty, director general of police Rajeev Kumar, additional director general of police (law and order) Manoj Verma, ADG (south Bengal) Supratim Sarkar, Praveen Tripathi, commissioner of Howrah Police commissionerate, one after another to convince the delegates so that the latter can participate in the dialogue with the chief minister to solve the stalemate.

The officials were found assuring them repeatedly for video recording of the entire proceedings but the agitators refused to participate demanding live streaming.

“We came here responding to the chief minister’s call for dialogues with an open mind. But we are upset and disheartened because the government did not meet our demand for live streaming of the event. We still hope that the crisis will be solved following talks and are eager to join work,” the delegates said.