Senior professors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta are standing shoulder to shoulder – in spirit – with their protesting students.

On Thursday, as marches and rallies continued in Calcutta, the Resident Doctor's Association of RG Kar organised a convention at the platinum jubilee building auditorium around noon. Nearly three weeks had passed since one of their colleagues, a 31-year-old trainee doctor, was raped and murdered in their workplace.

Professors, who are government servants, didn’t try to break the movement. They cemented their support to the protesting junior doctors. Two points came out of the convention. One, if justice eludes them there will be mass resignations and two, if the government takes steps against the protesting doctors then professors will financially help them.

The convention came 24 hours after chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in a Trinamul rally: “We did not act against you after you protested because I understand you are upset. But please join work gradually. The Supreme Court has said that the state government can now take action. I don't want to take action because I want them to study properly. If get an FIR registered, their future will be destroyed, they won't get a chance anywhere, they won't get passports and visas. If I take legal action, their lives will be destroyed. I don't want that, our government has a human outlook, we want to create more doctors with this human outlook.”

After her comments sparked a storm of criticism, the chief minister on Thursday denied she had made any veiled threats to the agitating doctors and said she supports their movement.

Junior doctors protesting across the state are undeterred. So are the junior doctors and the professors at the RG Kar.

PTI

“Three kinds of narratives were put forward overall,” Devalina Bose, a student of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, told The Telegraph Online. “One was, we need to withdraw the cease-work and think about the patients, which was in the public interest. Second was the decision to withdraw or continue cease-work should be left on the junior doctors, and the last was that we should wait till the end and see what justice we get; if nothing happens we will give mass resignation which was told by some professors publicly.”

Anubhab Saha, an intern at RG Kar, was at the convention.

“Till the time I was there various HOD’s [heads of departments] were there, and the new MSVP [medical superintendent and vice president] also came,” Saha told The Telegraph Online.

“The new principal [Manas Kumar Bandyopadhyay] could not come as he had to visit the CGO complex for enquiry. They assured us if we need any financial help or funds they are ready to give us that also. They asked the junior doctors to continue and maintain their strike, as this strike is needed for justice. The teachers said that in case the junior doctors face any kind of ill situation related to stipend pay or force they will go ahead and give mass resignation to support us. They asked us to isolate the people who constantly threaten us.”

Dr Jayanta De, who teaches at the Biochemistry department of RG Kar, said he could not attend the convocation because of exams.

“But I gathered that most, including MSVP, want cease-work to continue. MSVP assured students that professors want justice too and students have their support. One or two professors even said that if steps are taken against junior doctors we will submit mass resignation. Some who are close to a certain person said junior doctors should resume work.” De said.