Usually never shy to comment, many protesting doctors declined to speak to reporters after the 24-minute news conference by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

More than one among those who did speak began by saying that they respected the chair of the chief minister. Some others still put up a brave face.

Here’s what some of the protesters had to say:

Postgraduate trainee at Medical College Kolkata (did not want to be named)

We will consult with lawyers to understand whether there is any problem with live-streaming the meeting. We are ready to pay any legal expense to find out whether the claims made by top officials of the state and the chief minister have any legal basis.

We were told that there will be three cameras that will be used to record the meeting. We were also told that the recording would be shared with us only if the Supreme Court allowed that. We wanted transparency and were apprehensive that an edited version of the video would be shared with us. That is why we wanted the meeting to be live-streamed.

Intern at Bankura Sammilani Medical College

(did not want to be named)

The chief minister said she will not sit with us in the future. That’s fine. We respect her chair.

We are seeking justice for our sister who we have lost in the most heinous way possible. The chief minister, while speaking at Nabanna, said she would resign if needed. We don’t want to take her chair. We have never demanded that. We want to remind everyone that we are doctors and not politicians. We don’t want anyone’s chair.

It is evident that she is under a lot of pressure and that is why she tried to portray herself as the victim. She wants to win back people’s support.

Sunanda Ghosh,

Postgraduate trainee
at SSKM Hospital

Our demands have not been met. The chief minister tried to divert attention from the core issue. Our protest is not only because of the lack of restrooms. We are feeling threatened in our workplace. Primarily because of certain forces in the health administration. Some people in the administration, with vested interests, are actively trying to sabotage the healthcare infrastructure. The investigation into the rape and murder has brought to the fore the rampant corruption in the healthcare system.That is what we are protesting against.

The Supreme Court proceedings are live-streamed. Then why can’t our meeting be live-streamed?

The government is giving a death toll. What is the evidence that these people died because of our cease-work? Is the entire healthcare system dependent on junior doctors? The chief minister never mentioned how understaffed the hospitals are.

The chief minister is worried because we have people’s support. She is trying to assuage widespread public anger.

Sashwat Tarenia,

Postgraduate trainee at SSKM Hospital

We insisted on live-streaming because a video recording can be tampered with. What if we were given only selected parts of the entire recording?

The toll that the chief minister referred to has no basis. There is no government portal recording the deaths.

The chief minister was looking sad because she was under pressure. Our movement, which has garnered international attention, has put her under pressure. We are not on the back-foot.

Our demands are very simple. The crime that has happened is so heinous that we will keep protesting till we get justice.