On Wednesday, junior medical staff members at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital conducted protests against 51 senior doctors, house staff, and interns, which marked a dramatic turn in the situation. Hundreds of junior doctors have taken to the streets to express their dissatisfaction, accusing these individuals of creating a “threat culture” within the organization. The demonstrations are taking place in the midst of an investigation into claims of intimidation and harassment at the hospital.
With chants like “down with threat culture” and “down with north Bengal lobby,” the protesters, who were mostly junior physicians, called for an investigation into the alleged misbehavior. The term “north Bengal lobby” describes a group of physicians, many of whom are from the state’s north, who are charged of making the workplace unfriendly for junior employees.
Ashis Pandey, a senior PGT medic with connections to Sandip Ghosh, a former hospital principle, and the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), was one among those asked to testify before the inquiry committee. Ghosh is presently being held by the CBI because of his purported participation in internal administration disputes at the organization. Suspicions regarding the presence of political influence in the hospital’s ongoing problems have been heightened by Pandey’s participation in the investigation.
While 12 of the accused doctors went before the inquiry committee to submit their defense, junior doctors staged protests outside the hospital superintendent’s office. Due to their claimed connections to Ghosh, whose alleged wrongdoing has clouded the hospital’s management, the 51 accused people have been temporarily prohibited from entering the hospital grounds.
Separately, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s personal physician, Dr. Shyama Prasad Das, officially addressed reports that he was connected to the accused doctors. Das, whose name has been associated with the “north Bengal lobby,” insisted he has no inside knowledge of the hospital’s administrative problems and denied any involvement in the current dispute. Additionally, he denied any impact on the Chief Minister’s decisions about hospital operations, blaming the accusations against him on political grounds.
The R G Kar Medical College and Hospital scandal is still unfolding, with legal and political ramifications, notwithstanding the investigation and demonstrations. The junior doctors’ desires for a more secure and open working environment are still at the center of the dispute as the probe moves on.
SOURCE :
THE PRINT
