Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday reached out to agitating junior doctors, inviting them to the state secretariat at Nabanna for a meeting to resolve the impasse amid their ongoing protest over the R G Kar issue, but they did not turn up, Chandrima Bhattacharya, minister of state for health, said. “The state government supports the reasons behind the agitation of the junior doctors and that’s why the chief minister was waiting for their representatives at Nabanna till 7.30 pm to discuss their demands but they didn’t come. The chief minister left for the day.

The principal secretary of the health department sent them an email around 6.10 asking them to send a 10-member delegation to Nabanna for talks but they didn’t respond,” Mrs Bhattacharya told reporters at the state secretariat this evening. The striking junior doctors on Tuesday continued their stir, declining to comply with an order of the Supreme Court asking them to resume duties by 5 p.m today. The junior doctors are staging a dharna outside the Swasthya Bhavan in Salt Lake demanding the removal of the state health secretary Mr NS Nigam and the Director of Medical Education and other senior officials of the state health department. They said they received an email from the health secretary, but it was not positive in terms of their charter of demands.

Advertisement

Mrs Bhattacharya also said only Miss Banerjee will speak to the media on the current events that are taking place following the rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on 9 August. Mrs Bhattacharya also informed the media that the state Cabinet, at a meeting today chaired by Miss Banerjee, decided to set up five more POCSO courts in Bengal. Mrs Bhattacharya said the decision was taken as the state government is determined to ensure speedy trial and conviction of the culprits involved in abuse and molestation of girls. Already, there are 62 POCSO courts in the state. The work to set up the additional POSCO courts will start immediately. There are 6 e-POSCO courts in the state.