Bengal junior doctors reject Mamata Banerjee's Nabanna invite, insist on media presence during meeting

The agitating junior doctors of West Bengal have once again rejected Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s invite for a meeting at Nabanna. News Nation has accessed the official communication by the protesting doctors. After the General Body meet, the doctors announced that they will not go for the meeting with the Chief Minister at 3pm later in the day. The medicos have insisted that live media coverage should be there during the meet. “They want it to be meeting which the public should know of. They have now communicated that they have not got any official communication from CM’s office. They say they want to end the strike and are hoping the Chief Minister hears their appeal,” the communication says.

With this, the stalemate in Bengal seems to not end anytime soon. While both sides have showed a climbdown from their initial aggressive stance, the latest communication means that the junior doctors will not meet Mamata at her Kolkata office.

News Nation had earlier reported that the Trinamool Congress chief had asked the doctors to meet her at Nabanna (State Secretariat) at 3 pm today (Monday). However, Mamata Banerjee rejected the doctors demand of media's presence covering the meeting. To end the impasse, two medical representatives from 14 colleges will meet the CM today. Chief secretary, additional and principal secretary health and Director, Medical Education will be present in the meeting. There’s no update on this particular meeting.

Banerjee had on Saturday invited the agitators for closed-door talks, but the offer was turned down by them. Talking to the media after a two-and-half-hour-long meeting of their governing body, a spokesperson of the joint forum of junior doctors said, "We are keen to end this impasse. We are ready to hold talks with the chief minister at a venue of her choice, provided it is held in the open, in the presence of media persons, and not behind closed doors."