The Bengal Health crisis has acquired unfathomable proportions. It is reported now that over 700 doctors have submitted their resignations from all over the state in solidarity with the protests over the state government’s apathy towards the concerns of the medical fraternity.
Ever since Mamata Banerjee escalated matters with her threats to the medical fraternity, things have been spiralling out of control. Even as mass resignations started pouring in from medical institutions across the state on Friday, medical institutions continued to be attacked.
On Friday afternoon, the Calcutta National Medical College (CNMC) was attacked for the second time since Monday. One student had suffered a head injury as a consequence of the mob attack.
Meanwhile, the protesting Bengali junior doctors have made a chant out of Mamata Banerjee’s ‘outsider’ allegation. The chant goes:
“Who am I?”
“Outsider!”
“Who is he?”
“Outsider!”
“Who are they?”
“Outsider!”
As a consequence of the state government’s gross mismanagement of the entire issue, patients are suffering. There’s an immediate need to resolve the issue so that normal operations can begin. Senior Doctors are blaming the Trinamool government’s proclivity towards mob violence for the entire situation.
To make matters worse, Trinamool leaders themselves are being accused of threatening protesting doctors with rape and murder. Staffers at the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital claim that that the ruling dispensation was threatening them to withdraw the strike.
There are videos circulating on social media which purportedly show the Trinamool MP from Murshidabad, Abu Taher Khan threatening the doctors at the institution. The politician, however, has denied all allegations.
This happened last evening at Murshidabad Medical College. The leader screaming at agitating junior doctors is TMC MP Abu Taher Khan Chaudhury. See how the mob that came with him is behaving.
Also witness how the fearless lady doctors of Bengal are standing up against them all? pic.twitter.com/z1m8Zekr5V— Sᴏᴜᴍʏᴀᴅɪᴘᴛᴀ (@Soumyadipta) June 14, 2019
The longer this goes on, the more it will hurt the ordinary citizen. However, the ruling dispensation appears bent on intimidating the medical fraternity into submission. We had reported that Mamata Banerjee herself had derailed the ongoing discussions by threatening the doctors on Thursday, a day after constructive decisions were taken.
Politically, as well, the protests are catastrophic for Mamata Banerjee. Through her stubborn resistance towards any reconciliation, she has made it her ‘Singur Moment‘. The Doctors on strike are demanding that Banerjee meet them at the NRS Hospital. At this point, it’s the least she could do to initiate the resolution process.
