Kolkata: The ongoing standoff between West Bengal’s junior doctors and the state government has taken a new turn, with the government dismissing the recent ‘mass resignations’ submitted by senior doctors as having no legal standing.
The resignations, submitted this week in support of junior doctors who have been protesting since August following the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, were intended to pressure the government to address the demands of the protesting doctors.
However, the state government, through Alapan Bandyopadhyay, the chief advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has declared that these resignations are merely generic letters with no legal value.
Bandyopadhyay emphasised that resignations are governed by specific service rules and must be submitted in a prescribed format to be considered valid. The letters received by the government, he said, lack the necessary details and formal structure to be considered legitimate.
“Each page has to be signed by the individual who is tendering such an important paper and the matter has to be seen as one between the employer and the individual employee,” he stated.
Despite the government’s assertion, several senior doctors have clarified that their resignations were a symbolic gesture aimed at pressuring the government to engage in dialogue with the junior doctors. They have reassured the public that patient care has not been compromised and that they remain committed to their duties.
“Our resignation is symbolic, aimed at prompting the government to engage in discussions. We do not want the patients to suffer. We are treating them and will continue to do so because it is our duty and we are morally obliged to do that,” Dr Sunit Hazra, an orthopaedic surgeon at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, had told news agency PTI.
Meanwhile, the junior doctors’ protest continues, with the number of doctors on a fast-unto-death rising to ten. Doctors’ representatives have expressed concern over the government’s lack of response and have urged them to address the concerns of the protesting doctors to prevent any further escalation of the crisis.
The situation remains tense, with both the junior doctors and the state government locked in a stalemate. The government’s dismissal of the resignations as legally invalid has further intensified the conflict, leaving the future of the protests uncertain.
