RG Kar protest: 50 senior doctors resign in solidarity with junior colleagues

Kolkata: In a dramatic turn of events, as many as 50 senior doctors of RG. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata tendered resignations on Tuesday expressing solidarity with their junior colleagues protesting against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor within the same hospital premises in August.

The decision by the 50 senior doctors to go for mass resignation was taken soon after information surfaced that Kolkata Police has denied permission to the scheduled mega rally of representatives from the medical fraternity including senior and junior doctors, nursing fraternity and health-worker representatives on Tuesday starting from 4.30 p.m. to protest against the rape and murder case.

The mass resignation by the senior doctors has left the R.G. Kar authorities and the state health department in a fix because their absence amid protests by their junior colleagues would lead to a total collapse in the medical services at the hospital before the forthcoming festive season starting with Durga Puja from Thursday.

Incidentally, on Monday only, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant appealed to the seven junior doctors who are on fast-unto-death agitation at Esplanade to break their hunger strike and return to regular duty at their respective hospitals.

Political observers feel that the mass resignation on the very next day proves how the manner of handling the sensitive issue made the doctors’ agitation stronger rather than weakening it.

At the time this report was filed, information surfaced that senior doctors attached to other state-run medical colleges and hospitals might adopt the same path of mass resignation which might create fresh tension for the state government.

Starting from Saturday evening, the junior doctors have started a unique protest, where some of them have started the fast-unto-death agitation, while the others have gone back to their medical services duty withdrawing their cease-work.

Initially, six junior doctors, three female and three male, started the hunger strike protests. On Sunday evening, their seventh colleague joined them