Mamata Banerjee says demands of protesting doctors met, urges them to resume work

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said her government accepted all the demands of protesting doctors in West Bengal and urged them to resume work.

"We never arrested a single person. We will not take any police action. Health services cannot continue like this," Banerjee told the media on the fifth day of the strike which crippled medical services in the state.

She also said that the West Bengal government had not invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) even after five days of strike by the junior doctors and appealed to them to immediately rejoin service.


Under the ESMA, employees in a long list of "essential services" like post, railway, airport and port operations are prohibited from going on strike.

The protests had snowballed after Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee refused to acknowledge the protests in Kolkata’s NRS Medical College and Hospital and threatened the doctors with severe action if they didn’t end the agitation at once.



It all began when when a 75-year-old patient at Kolkata’s NRS hospital died and his family alleged medical negligence. The family, accompanied by a 200-strong mob barged into the hospital and critically injured one of the doctors. Doctors have since been demanding action against the culprits and police protection for all doctors.