Mamata offers to step down after docs refuse to hold talks

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday offered to resign “for the sake of people” and said she also wanted justice for the murdered RG Kar doctor.

“I apologise to the people of Bengal who expected an end to the RG Kar impasse today. They (junior doctors) came to Nabanna but did not sit for the meeting. I request them to go back to work,” Mamata said at a press conference. “I am ready to resign for the sake of the people as, despite my best intentions and efforts in the last three days, the medics declined to hold talks,” the CM said.

The agitating junior doctors blamed the West Bengal administration for its rigidness in not allowing live-streaming of the meeting. Dubbing the CM’s remarks blaming the medics for the impasse as unfortunate, the doctors said their “cease work” and agitation would continue until their demands were met.

“The CM’s remarks are unfortunate. We wanted the talks to take place... We wanted live-streaming for the transparency of the meeting,” one of the agitating doctors told reporters. The talks were scheduled for 5 pm in the presence of the CM, as demanded by the protesters. The CM waited for more than an hour to meet the doctors. However, the meeting did not take place as scheduled. “We had never asked for her resignation and are neither here to press for it. We are here with our demands for the sake of justice for the murdered doctor of RG Kar,” the doctor said.