The medical fraternity in Lucknow is agitated over the incident at Neel Ratan Sarkar Medical College in Kolkata where two junior doctors were beaten up by the kin of an elderly patient who died during treatment.
Doctors demanded an end to the goondagardi. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has termed the doctors’ agitation as politically motivated, saying doctors were playing in the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The question being asked is why are doctors on the boil this time? Why is their protest not homogeneous? Why does the Indian Medical Association (IMA) remain silent when a doctor and principal of BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur are arrested or resident doctors of GSV Medical College Hospital are beaten up by Samajwadi Party MLA in Kanpur or resident doctors are beaten up in BHU over allotment of bed?
Dr Ajay Lekhi of Delhi Medical Association, who has been leading the stir in the national capital, told this reporter over phone, “There is no politics involved in this agitation. Yes, many times incidents take place where doctors are beaten up and the issue is not taken up on national level as we try to resolve it at the local level. Par ab paani sar ke upar chadh gaya tha (Now it had crossed all the limits). So, we were forced to hold protests across India.”
“We know Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has termed this protest as politically motivated and that the BJP is behind this protest. We have nothing to do with Congress, BJP or Mamata. The fact is IMA president Dr Shantunu Sen belongs to Trinamool Congress (TMC) and is a Member of Parliament and it was on his call that the doctors joined the strike,” Dr Lekhi said.
The situation spiralled into a major controversy after Mamata Banerjee threatened doctors to end their strike within four hours.
“No shame, those who do this, I condemn. Take strong action, evacuate the hospitals and hostels,” Mamata said.
This outburst prompted senior doctors in other hospitals in Bengal to either resign or threaten to resign. The fire spread across the country as the IMA gave the call for all-India protest on Friday.
“This is a serious issue. You cannot compare NRS Medical College with BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur. In Gorakhpur, children died due to negligence and two or three doctors were arrested. Then too, we asked for their release and a probe. In Kolkata, patient’s kin beat up doctors and one of them is on ventilator. We try to save patient every time, but we are not God,” Dr Lekhi said.
Fellow of Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), Dr RP Soni said that in majority of cases, people thrashed doctors because they did not want to settle the bills. “If they have a problem with the doctor, relatives can lodge a complaint but taking law in their hands in not acceptable,” he said.
In Uttar Pradesh, doctors were not on strike but were seen working sporting black armbands in solidarity with doctors in West Bengal.