AIIMS Resident Doctors issue ultimatum to West Bengal government; say if demands not met within 48 hours, they will go on indefinite strike

A day after nationwide protests by junior doctors across hospitals in response to the attack at the NRS Medical College in Kolkata on Monday that left three junior doctors injured, Resident doctors at AIIMS, New Delhi, have issued an ultimatum to the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal govt, threatening to launch an indefinite stir if the government failed to meet the demands of medical practitioners in the state within 48 hours.

On Friday, nearly 300 doctors resigned from government hospitals in West Bengal as the protest in Kolkata escalated across the country. Several junior doctors in several states boycotted work which severely affected the medical services. 

Coming out in support of their Kolkata colleagues, Resident doctors at the AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital worked with bandages on their heads in a symbolic protest on Thursday and called for the suspension of all non-emergency services, including OPD, on June 14 to protest against the violence in Kolkata.

While West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi said he called up Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to discuss the issue of junior doctors’ strike, he added that he got no response from her. 

READ | Doctors' Strike Reaches Supreme Court: Plea Filed Over Safety And security Of Doctors Seeking Security At Government Hospitals And Action Against Assaulters Of Kolkata Doctor

The protesting doctors had put forth a series of demands to the West Bengal government in order to call off the strike. They demanded West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to issue an unconditional apology for her remarks in the matter, adding that she must visit the agitating doctors. 

Furthermore, the doctors' strike reached the Supreme Court on Friday, with a PIL being filed in the apex court over safety and security of Government Doctors across the country.

In the plea, the petitioner - Supreme Court lawyer, Alakh Alok Srivastava sought a direction from the SC for the deployment of Govt. Security personnel at each Government hospital and the formulation of strict guidelines. 

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