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The original umbrella body spearheading the protests has accused the newly formed group of being made up of those accused of “threat culture” with the backing of the ruling TMC
The two rival groups of junior doctors have thrown accusations at each other. (Image: News18/File)
The ongoing protests by junior doctors of West Bengal over the rape and murder of a trainee medic at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, seem to be taking a murky turn with two rival associations making accusations against each other.
On the one hand, West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), the original umbrella body spearheading the protests, has accused the newly formed West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Association (WBJDA) of being a group of those accused of “threat culture” within the premises of medical colleges and hospitals.
They have been accused of enjoying the patronage of erstwhile influential persons from the medical fraternity like RG Kar’s former principal of Sandip Ghosh. Representatives in the WBJDA, reportedly having the backing of the ruling Trinamool Congress, have accused the WBJDF members of exploiting the rape and murder issues to serve self-interest, including mobilisation of funds from the public in the name of the protests.
The WBJDA has demanded that the state government probe the activists of the WBJDF, including the source of funds mobilised by the front. The WBJDF, however, rubbished such allegations and claimed that the new association has been formed with the active backing of the ruling party to malign the agitation that has received massive mass support since the beginning.
“We had withdrawn our fast-unto-death considering the larger public interest and because of the request from the parents of the victim junior doctor. But that does not mean that we will be withdrawing the agitation in support of our demands on this issue. Rather we will be extending the ambit of our protest beyond metros, urban, suburban and district headquarters to rural West Bengal,” a WBJDF representative said.
The WBJDF has already announced that it will be organising a protest march to the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Salt Lake on the northern outskirts of Kolkata on Wednesday (October 30), a day before Kali Puja, demanding a speedy and logical conclusion of the central agency’s probe in the rape and murder case.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – IANS)
