Bengal Govt To Protesting Doctors: '15-Member Delegation To Meet CM Mamata At 5 PM, No Live Telecast'

West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant issued a renewed appeal on Thursday to junior doctors protesting over the alleged rape and murder of a female doctor.

In his letter, Pant urged the protesting doctors to meet with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at 5 pm, in hopes of resolving the impasse that has severely affected healthcare services in state-run hospitals.

While the government agreed to some of the doctors' demands, it rejected their request for a live broadcast of the meeting. However, the state did permit the discussion to be recorded for transparency.

Pant's letter also limited the delegation of doctors to 15 members. He confirmed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would be present at the talks.

"The meeting shall not be Live telecast. However, the same can be recorded to maintain transparency. This will serve the purpose intended from your end, while also maintaining the sanctity of the proceedings, ensuring that all discussions are accurately documented," Chief Secretary Pant stated in his letter.

The junior doctors have been staging a sit-in at the West Bengal Health Department's office in Salt Lake for 34 days. Their protest began after the body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found with injuries on August 9 at RG Kar Medical College.

The doctors are demanding justice for their colleague, which includes calls for increased security for female healthcare workers and the suspension of certain officials, including the Kolkata Police Commissioner, over alleged mismanagement of the case.

Despite an invitation to talks from the state government on Wednesday, the protesting doctors had previously refused unless Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself was present, along with a live telecast of the meeting.

"We will continue our agitation and 'cease work'. But, we did not want to continue this. The state government is not open to holding any meeting with us. And, we want to make it clear that there is no politics behind our stir," one of the protesting doctors was quoted as saying by PTI.

The case, which has drawn widespread attention and sparked the ongoing protests, is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) following an order from the Calcutta High Court.

The doctors' demands focus on securing justice for their colleague and improving safety measures for healthcare workers, particularly women, across the state's hospitals.