Junior doctors claimed victory in the removal of the Kolkata Police commissioner and the others but they will not return to work unless the changes are effected on the ground.
Doctor-leaders slammed the government in fiery speeches on their return from the meeting at the chief minister’s residence in Kalighat. But the mood in the audience was celebratory outside Swasthya Bhavan in Salt Lake.
Most of those who were chanting slogans till a few minutes ago were swaying to the beats of drums and various other instruments. Some were singing and throwing their arms in the air in a triumphal show of what they had achieved after 38 days of protest.
They have been camping outside Swasthya Bhavan since September 10. The cease-work started on August 9, hours after a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee was found raped and murdered on duty at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
“We forced the government to bow to our demands. This happened after 38 days of the movement by doctors and common people. This is not the end. We will not rest until we have secured justice for our sister,” thundered Debasis Halder, one of the doctor-leaders.
“Some discussions were positive while some remained incomplete. First, we need to say that the respected chief minister has assured us that police commissioner Vineet Goyal will be removed. That she agreed to this is a big victory for this movement. The campaign to cleanse Swasthya Bhawan resulted in the removal of the DME and DHS. The deputy commissioner of police (north) who had wanted to give money to the parents of the girl will also be removed,” said Halder.
Another speaker said the removal of the police commissioner vindicated the protesters’ stand. “We had a discussion about all the points. We clearly explained that we want justice, justice and only justice. Today is a small success that we have achieved on the 38th day of our protest. Today, they had to agree that the commissioner of police somewhere did pose a hurdle to justice and the process and his resignation has been accepted.”
He vowed not to let the guard down.
The “andolan (movement)” will continue, many of the protesters said.
They asserted that the strike was a show of their spine and their willingness to take on the state.
“We will continue this andolan because some of our demands have been met. But the demand for the removal of the health secretary will be discussed. We want to say on behalf of the junior doctors’ forum that till the time Swasthya Bhavan is not completely cleansed, we will not go,” the doctor said.
Aqeeb Ashraf, postgraduate trainee, Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, said forming a task force, as announced by Mamata, for a security audit of government hospitals, was not enough.
“Our point is that only forming a task force will not complete the work. It requires more discussion. We know that corruption exists in medical colleges because there are no democratic elections. We know that if a student body is strong, every student gets the strength to raise their voice in the right place and at the right time so that there are no more such incidents. Until we get justice, this movement will continue,” he said.
Every speech was underlined by jubilant cries from the crowd. Some of the doctors went to the police personnel posted at the site with sweets.
“The movement has borne fruit. This is not only ours but the victory of the people, who have stood behind us. Our demands were always very clear and justified. The fact that the chief minister as agreed to remove the police commissioner validates what we had been saying for a long time. That there was evidence tampering by police,” Anirban Chaudhuri, a postgraduate intern at SSKM Hospital, told Metro.
Shagufta Yasmin, an intern at North Bengal Medical College, said the initial victory was a small step towards getting justice.
“We will not stop fighting till the proper investigation is complete. There are several other issues that need redress,” she said.
The celebration continued past 1.30am. As the night wore on, the slogan chanting and resolve to do more came back.
