The ball is in her court, the onus is on her. It is high time the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stops her intransigence over the fast-unto-death by seven junior doctors and hunker down to address the demands they have raised in the wake of the rape and murder of their colleague at RG Kar Medical College Hospital two months ago, and the corruption allegations against the former principal now in CBI custody.
For the Chief Minister, addressing the issue would be the smart thing to do because the doctors’ protests are threatening to spread. Doctors at several state-run hospitals have submitted mass resignations, first from RG Kar and most recently from the premier hospital and postgraduate medical college, Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial (SSKM). Now, large sections of doctors at private hospitals, including Apollo Gleneagles and RN Tagore Hospitals in Kolkata, have declared a cease work, except for emergencies. Others may follow.
The junior doctors’ demands have been supported by the senior doctors in both the government and private institutions. Some senior doctors are wondering if they should try and expand the base of their protests, making them “all-inclusive”. After all, the widespread public protests—triggered by the rape and murder of the junior trainee doctor—have continued over two months, now broadly evolving into a protest against corruption.
Corruption is not the preserve of the health department alone; it runs through other government departments too. For example, investigations into the corruption in the state’s education department have landed the former education minister Partha Chatterjee in jail. Just 100-odd metres from where the doctors are on hunger strike, dozens of teachers—who claim they have been denied jobs and are victims of corruption in recruitment to government schools—have been sitting on dharna for years. Why not bring them all under one umbrella?
Of course, the primary concern of the senior doctor is the health of the seven junior doctors who have been on hunger strike since Saturday. If anything happens to them, the consequences would be disastrous. And, hence, the calls for the Chief Minister to act now.
If Banerjee is truly a smart politician, she should rise above petty politics, turn this crisis into an opportunity, and play senior stateswoman. Barring that one day on 14 September, when she showed up unannounced at the doctors’ dharna and urged them to come to talk, Banerjee’s response to the RG Kar crisis has only earned her public opprobrium – except the Trinamool Congress (TMC) version of the BJP bhakt. Now is her chance to rise above it all and stand tall.
Will she be able to?
Also read: RG Kar issue: Several agitating docs ‘picked up’ by police while distributing leaflets in Kolkata
Need for velvet gloves
The signals are mixed. TMC leaders have either stopped heckling the protesting doctors or at least toned it down over the past week. Whether this is due to Durga Puja or orders from Banerjee is not clear. If it is the latter, it could indicate that the CM is aware of the situation spinning out negatively for the TMC.
The state’s instructions to police on handling of the doctors’ protests are also unclear. At some puja pandals, protesters shouted slogans for justice, flash mob style, and there was no trouble. But, in another case, nine students who shouted “We want justice” near a South Kolkata pandal were arrested. They spent a night in a police lock-up.
Such actions are a provocation. The Kolkata Police has reportedly advised its forces that the junior doctors’ protests are not the usual stuff and should be handled with kid gloves. Perhaps that message needs to percolate further.
It is up to the Chief Minister to make that happen. Mamata Banerjee has famously said in the past that she is “rough and tough” but now is not the time to show either trait. This is a moment for the velvet glove and the velvet touch. Can she do it? Or will she stay trapped in the Iron Lady mould, risking harm to herself most of all?
Monideepa Banerjie is a senior journalist based in Kolkata. She tweets @Monideepa62. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)