Known for delivering “shock and awe” treatment to her opponents Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday made a surprise visit to the sit-in site of the junior doctors --- demanding justice for the raped and murdered lady of a doctor of RG Kar Medical College Hospital, expressed solidarity with their cause and offered to sympathetically consider their demands should they fall in line and withdraw their cease work.

“I couldn’t sleep the whole night as you sat in protest under open sky in rain … myself being a product of movements I have come running to you to make a last ditch effort to find a solution,” Banerjee told over a microphone apparently making things clear that she was in full command of the proceedings.

Overwhelmed for the first moments the doctors who had not expected such a surprise move recollected themselves and began shouting slogans demanding justice to which the Chief Minister said, “you will definitely get justice … but please give me some time to take decisions.”

On the doctors’ demand for a live streamed dialogue over the removal of some of the top bureaucrats including Kolkata Police Commissioner for shoddy handling of the initial investigation and Health Secretary and two Directors of Health for playing contributory role in tampering of evidence Banerjee said, “please give me some time … I will see into things myself and if found guilty no person will be spared … I will take appropriate decision … but I please return to your work … that is my suggestion to you as your elder sister … I have come her not as the Chief Minister because I think that there is no post higher than that of the people.” About 7,500 junior doctors of all the medical colleges have been on a cease work for the past 35 days.

For the carrot she dangled the Chief Minister also tended to refer to the stick even as she said how “the Supreme Court will hear the matter on September 17,” adding “I don’t want you to get any harm... I would urge you to listen to me … Give me some time and I will solve your problems.”

She reminded that her Saturday’s action was unique as “I too had gone on a 26-day fast during the Singur movement but not a single person from the CPI(M) Government came to me … but here I have come myself to be by your side.”

As the pitch of the slogan fell and rose off and on between her speech Banerjee iterated that unlike many other States “mine is not the UP Police … I will not inflict ESMA on you like they did … like t hey banned rallies and everything for months ... I am against taking action against the doctors … I know without your help medical system will not run properly … I have come to you as your co-fighter in your dharna platform.”

A bilateral dialogue had failed on Thursday as a team of doctors that had gone to the State secretariat at Nabanna returned empty handed from the doorsteps of the meeting hall as the Government would not allow live-streaming of the talks that the doctors insisted on.

Asserting that all Patients’ Welfare Committees would stand dissolved from immediate effect and that such Committees in all the State run hospitals would be chaired by the Principals and have junior doctors, nurses and ordinary citizenry as their members Banerjee iterated “as is being propagated that some people are my acquaintances I must make it clear that none is my friend and people who are being talked of are not known to me at all … I have not been in the know of corruption that had been taking place in the hospitals … and hence after the inquiry I will definitely punish whoever is found guilty.”

Besides being the Police Minister of the State Chief Minister is also Health Minister.

Meanwhile, the doctors’ representatives welcomed the Chief Minister’s action but said they would anyway stick to their demands.

“We must welcome the Chief Minister’s move … she came all the way to this place and expressed her views for the movement … she also offered to take some actions … but we continue to stick to our demands prime of which is the justice for Abhaya … our sister and lady doctor who was so brutally raped and murdered … we will also want to stick to our five-point demands before we enter the meeting venue.”

A team of doctors had started for the Chief Minister’s residence at Kalighat when reports last came in.

Elsewhere in a related development the police on Saturday arrested Kalatan Dasgupta a spokesperson of the Democratic Youth Federation of India the CPI(M)’s youth arm following a leaked audio clipping where two persons were heard planning attack on the doctors’ dharna site so as to malign the Trinamool Congress Government.

CPI(M) State secretary Md Salim vehemently protested the Government act saying it was a “ploy to break the movement,” wondering “why the police acted on an audio posted and placed by TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh.” Another senior leader wondered, why “an educated person like Kalatan will be so foolish not to prefer WhatsApp call in such a fluid time as this when all political leaders’ phones are being taped.”