Kolkata horror: Mamata accepts resignation demand of Bengal top cop after meeting with doctors

The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, announced that the state government has accepted the resignation of Commissioner of Police, Vineet Goyal. She also mentioned that 42 doctors, who had been protesting, have signed the minutes of the meeting. The Chief Secretary, Manoj Pant, was also present at the meeting.

Junior doctors in the Indian city of Kolkata protesting against the August 9 rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital held a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (Sept 16), according to media reports.

Junior doctors from the RG Kar Medical College arrived at Chief Minister Banerjee's residence in Kolkata to meet her, visuals from the news agency ANI showed.

Speaking to ANI, Dr Tuhin,a protester,said, "Our representatives have reached to hold a meeting with the CM Mamata Banerjee. We will talk about our 5 demands. We will end our protests and movement only when our demands will be fulfilled..."

What happened during the meeting?

According to reports, the meeting started at 7 pm IST (Indian Standard Time) and ended at 9 pm. The two earlier meetings with CM Banerjee failed as she and the doctors could not cometo a consensus on whether the proceedings should be live streamedor videographed, with the video handed to doctors after it concludes, a report by NDTV said.

#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal: Junior doctors from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital arrive at the residence of CM Mamata Banerjee at her residence to meet her. pic.twitter.com/y1Hzghjbsx

The report said that in both the previous meetings,doctors had reached the venue but left without sitting down at the proverbial table.

A report by News18, meanwhile, said that the meeting ended on a positive note. The West Bengal government agreed to hear the demands of the protesting doctors.

What are the demands?

Earlier in the day, theWest Bengal Junior Doctors' Front and Resident Doctors' Association held a press conference in New Delhi and laid down their demands.

A look at the demands:

> Removal of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal as well as the Deputy Commissioner of Police of North and Central for administrative failure and alleged evidence tampering.

>Removal of the Director of Medical Education (DME), the Director of Health Services (DHS), and the Health Secretaryfrom the state health department.

> The Association demandedproper security and basic functional amenities in all hospitals and government healthcare centresto ensure proper safety and protection of junior doctors and all healthcare workers.

> Formationof an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) for the proper management of cases under POSH 2013 in every hospital and health centre.

> Legal statusfor all Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) bodies in every medical college, to conduct student union elections and dissolution of non-elected student units.

BJP demands Mamata's resignation

As the meeting between protesting doctors and Mamata Banerjee began, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bengal demanded the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo's resignation as CM.

"Junior doctors are efficient, they are intelligent, they are enough to take their decision. They demand to improve the health administration. BJP's moral support is with them but there is no coordination between their and BJP's demand...Whatever is going on in the state – recruitment scam, education scam, food scam; there is no law and order in the state – Mamata should step down...Mamata should resign...," Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari told ANI.

#WATCH | Kolkata: Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar says, "The attitude and rigidity adopted by the government only shows that they are not ready to make any compromise with the doctors. They have made five demands the government can accept at least one. What does it take to remove… pic.twitter.com/XwFGidyz30

"The attitude and rigidity adopted by the government only shows that they are not ready to make any compromise with the doctors. They have made five demands; the government can accept at least one. What does it take to remove the CP?...," Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said.

The Congress, meanwhile, said that Mamata was earlier firm that she would not meet the protesting doctors.

"Mamata Banerjee was firm that she would not meet the protesters but situations compelled her to meet the protesters,"Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary told the news agency PTI.

"People of Bengal want this issue to be resolved at the earliest. Being the CM, it is her responsibility to resolve this issue to prove that the West Bengal government cares for the issues of the people," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)