There seems to have developed differences of opinion among the doctors of Bengal  agitating in demand of justice for their woman colleague who was on August 9 raped and murdered inside the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital with the seniors opposing the juniors’ decision to resume indefinite “cease work” for the second time within a span of ten days following repeated attacks on their colleagues at various medical college hospitals.

According to the senior doctors the protestors who had been getting full support from the general public should not take recourse to actions that could impede people’s interest.

“About 35,000 patients come to the five medical colleges in Kolkata alone for treatment most of them have supported our cause throughout the movement so we should also take their plight into consideration particularly during the festive season when many private doctors would go vacationing and the poor patients would be left in lurch,” said one of the senior doctors while expressing his views in a general convention of doctors called in RGKMCH on Thursday.

Another senior doctor said that “we have been by the side of these junior doctors and will continue to support their cause but without imposing our views on them we will just like to advice them that this is not right time to resume cease work impeding the interests of thousands of common people who have been by us all these days we cannot alienate the common man from this movement,” said another senior paediatrician.

The doctors who had gone on an indefinite cease work post the RGKMCH incident had resumed duty breaking their 42-days’ cease work after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured foolproof security inside hospital premises besides conceding to their demand of removing Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and two directors of Health.

“But the Government which had given us assurance on other demands would not fulfill them forcing us to resume our movement,” said Dr Aniket one of the leaders.

Another doctor, a cardiologist suggested alternative mode of movement saying, “we can think about partial cease work or regular rallies and even dharnas or even go to the districts setting special medical care camps so as to make people aware about the plights of the doctors.”    

The junior doctors had not presented their views when reports last came in.

However some of them said that they would take the advice of the senior doctors and hold general body meeting of joint platform of junior doctors before taking a final decision.

“It is clear that this Government is trying to create a rift between the common people who have supported us and the doctors  but we will not fall in its trap  if we withdraw our cease work then it will not be because of the government pressure but because of the needs of the people  but still we will continue to agitate until attacks on doctors stop and until the Government takes some concrete steps to ensure safety and security inside the hospitals,” said Dr Kinjal Nanda one of the agitating doctors.