A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused her of threatening doctors, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asserted that she did not threaten junior doctors at state-run hospitals.
The doctors have been continuing cease-work for 21 days now to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman medic at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
Banerjee said accusations that have come from certain quarters of her threatening the agitating junior doctors are “completely false” and part of a “malicious disinformation campaign”.
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“Let me most emphatically clarify that I have not uttered a single word against the (medical etc.) students or their movements. I totally support their movement. Their movement is genuine. I never threatened them, as some people are accusing me of doing. This allegation is completely false,” she wrote on X.
Addressing the foundation day event of Trinamool Congress’s students’ wing, the Trinamool leader had urged doctors protesting against the August 9 incident at RG Kar Medical College. While doctors in most parts of the country have returned to work after the Supreme Court set up a National Task Force to recommend steps to ensure doctors’ safety on duty, those in Kolkata are still protesting in demand of justice for the victim.
At the event, the Chief Minister yesterday said, “We did not act against you after you protested because I understand you are upset. But please join work gradually. Supreme Court has said that the state government can now take action. I don’t want to take action because I want them to study properly. If they get an FIR registered, their future will be destroyed, they won’t get a chance anywhere, they won’t get passports and visas. If I take legal action, their lives will be destroyed. I don’t want that, our government has a human outlook, we want to create more doctors with this human outlook.”
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She also questioned why the CBI was yet to make a breakthrough in the case even after 16 days of taking over the investigation from Kolkata Police following a court order.
Following this, BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi told the media that the Chief Minister had threatened doctors with word play.
“After misleading the probe, destroying evidence and shielding accused, a new strategy to threaten doctors has emerged. Heed the Chief Minister’s words. She says she doesn’t want to register FIRs (against doctors) so that careers are not destroyed. Mamata Banerjee has threatened doctors with word play,” he said.
Agitating doctors also interpreted the chief minister’s remark as a “veiled threat” and rejected her appeal to join work.
Banerjee also wrote today, “I have spoken against BJP. I have spoken against them because, with the support of the Government of India, they are threatening the democracy in our state and trying to create anarchy. With support from the Centre, they are trying to create lawlessness and I have raised my voice against them.” The chief minister also issued a clarification with respect to her “snap back” message to her supporters against “the conspirators who need to be unmasked”.
“I also clarify that the phrase (“phonsh kara”) that I had used in my speech yesterday is a quote from Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. The legendary saint had said that occasionally there is need to raise one’s voice. When there are crimes and criminal offences, voice of protest has to be raised. My speech on that point was a direct allusion to the great Ramakrishnite saying,” she posted on her social media timeline.
(With inputs from PTI)