Over 40 senior doctors from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital submitted their resignation on Tuesday, October 8, in solidarity with their junior colleagues, who have been on a hunger strike at Dharmatala. The junior doctors, staging the protest, have put forward a list of 10 demands, and the mass resignation is intended to support their cause.
The junior doctors are protesting the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata. They began a fast unto death on Saturday evening, October 5, after claiming that the West Bengal government had not met their demands. Prior to the hunger strike, the doctors held a sit-in protest at Dorina Crossing in Dharmatala on Friday, giving the government a 24-hour deadline to address their concerns.
When the government failed to meet the deadline, the protesting doctors escalated their actions by beginning the indefinite hunger strike. “The state government has failed to meet our deadline, so we are now starting a fast unto death until our demands are fulfilled,” said one junior doctor. To ensure transparency, they have installed CCTV cameras at the protest site to monitor the proceedings.
While the junior doctors have promised to continue their duties, they remain steadfast in their refusal to eat until their demands are addressed. The sit-in protest was initiated after the doctors had previously called off a ‘total cease work’ strike, indicating their growing frustration with the lack of government action.
The senior doctors’ resignations highlight the growing support for the protest, increasing pressure on the state government to respond to the medical professionals’ demands.
