First they applauded her promises on hospital security, then they smiled with her and at the end she had them bursting into laughter with a playful comment.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee virtually charmed the junior doctors off their strike at a televised meeting in Nabanna on Monday afternoon, the past few days’ aggression and distrust melting away as the seasoned politician donned the role of a benevolent “Didi” for the young men and women who reciprocated with genuine humility and respect.
The 31 junior doctors had broken into applause at the 14th-floor conference hall as soon as Mamata promised “strong action whenever there’s any untoward incident (in a hospital)”.
They guffawed when she sought a “mishti kore (sweet)” promise of the strike’s withdrawal before they made it official at the epicentre, NRS Medical College and Hospital.
“Then I can announce that the cease-work is over,” the chief minister smiled.
At the end of a vintage Mamata show, both sides rightly claimed victory with even the hard-bitten bureaucrats at Nabanna flashing smiles and junior doctors erupting in celebration at the medical colleges where their strike had entered the seventh day.
But the real winners were the hundreds of thousands of patients who had been left in the lurch as the government healthcare system slammed its doors on them after an attack on doctors at NRS on June 10 night.
The formal withdrawal of the strike came around two-and-a-half hours after the meeting ended at 5.40pm, but by then junior doctors across Bengal had already got back to doing what they had been trained for: heal patients.
“The chief minister is very happy. The doctors too left smiling. This is the best possible outcome,” an official said.
Jubilation at NRS Medical College and Hospital after the conclusion of the chief minister’s meeting with junior doctors at Nabanna on Monday afternoon. As the meeting neared completion, Mamata had urged the junior doctors to announce the withdrawal of their strike. One of them, Archisman Bhattacharya, promised to make the announcement at NRS. “We give you our word that we’ll make the announcement at the epicentre of the movement,” he told the chief minister. In her inimitable style, Mamata replied: “Se thik aachhe tumi okhane giye ghoshona koro. Ekhane tumi ektu mishti kore bolo. Okhane giye tumi ektu joralo bhashay bolo (That’s all right, go there and make an announcement. But make a brief, sweet statement here too. Go there and use stronger language).” As the junior doctors burst into laughter, Mamata had the final word: Tar mane ami dhore nichchhi tomra withdraw korchho (So, I take it you’re withdrawing the strike). Thank you so much.” Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha
The first gesture of goodwill had come shortly before the meeting, when the medicos were informed that Mamata had agreed to their rather bold demand for live broadcast of the meeting.
As the meeting began, she got health secretary Rajiva Sinha to make it clear how favourably the government was looking at all the doctors’ 12 demands and how it had already acted on most of them.
As young doctor after young doctor spoke, Mamata listened with rapt attention and sometimes jotted down notes. When they expressed their security concerns, she prodded the police to be more responsive.
She conceded the manpower shortage that aggravates the doctors’ workload and readily agreed to the suggestion to bolster the grievance cells at hospitals. When the doctors complained of political interference, she told her officials to issue circulars forbidding the practice.
The doctors returned the gesture with the utmost civility. They complimented her health-sector initiatives even while highlighting the infrastructure issues at hospitals.
“They didn’t go there to fight. They went to flag their concerns and we are proud of the way they conducted themselves,” a senior doctor said.
After the meeting, Mamata visited Paribaha Mukhopadhyay, an intern injured grievously in the June 10 violence, honouring an old demand from the junior doctors.
