LIVE | Kolkata horror: SC forms task force for doctors’ safety; medics to continue stir
Major doctors' associations to continue strike until Health Ministry addresses CPA issue
Major doctors' associations on Tuesday announced that they would continue their strike until the Health Ministry takes concrete action on the issue of Clinical Practice Allowance (CPA).
On the ninth day of the strike, both the Federation of Resident Doctors' Associations (FORDA) and the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) released statements following Tuesday's Supreme Court hearing in the Kolkata rape and murder case.
"Following today's Supreme Court hearing in the Kolkata rape and murder case, the FAIMA Doctors Association held a pan-India meeting with all associated Resident Doctors' Associations (RDAs)," the FAIMA said.
The association said that it has decided to continue the strike after thorough discussions with the stakeholders until the Health Ministry takes concrete action on the issue of Clinical Practice Allowance (CPA), the statement said.
The strike will persist, with OPD and elective operating theaters remaining closed.
The association emphasized that it is "now or never" and announced plans to pursue justice through legal channels in the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the FORDA said in a statement that in response to the Supreme Court's intervention and the pressing need for enhanced safety for healthcare workers, FORDA India conducted a nationwide virtual meeting with over 35 DA representatives.
The key discussions included the Supreme Court’s recognition of the challenges faced by the resident doctors, administrative measures for improving workplace security and concerns about patient care.
"We will consult with resident doctors for their feedback before a follow-up meeting, ensuring that this movement, impacting every doctor in India, continues to be guided by their collective voices," the FORDA said.
Doctors hail SC order, stop short of calling off strike
Within hours of calling it off, central government-run RML Hospital on Tuesday said it will continue with its strike in solidarity with other resident doctors' bodies, which have been agitating for more than a week demanding a central law on doctors' safety in the wake of the rape and murder of a Kolkata medic.
Having called it off earlier in the day, the resident doctors of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital issued a revised statement saying the strike will continue.
"There was some miscommunication, and we apologise for the same. We want to clarify that we stand with our colleagues and other RDAs. We will make our decision only after there is a consensus among all RDAs, and the common decision of all RDAs will be our decision. We stand UNITED," the hospital's RDA said in the statement.
On Tuesday, bodies representing resident doctors from across the country welcomed the Supreme Court's intervention in the Kolkata murder case and decided to conduct a pan-India meeting for a decision on the ongoing strike.
The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association, or FORDA, and the Federation of All India Medical Association, or FAIMA, hailed the SC order and said they would conduct a meeting soon on the strike.
Hopeful that SC will take a revolutionary decision: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
#WATCH | Murshidabad, West Bengal: On Supreme Court taking suo motu cognizance of the rape and murder of a doctor in RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, "It is a very positive step that the Supreme Court has taking suo motu cognizance of the… pic.twitter.com/sGuZwU10N5— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2024
Suvendu Adhikari lauds SC directive for task force, says action must be taken ‘TMC goons’
"I welcome this step by the Supreme Court. The court has issued an interim order so that such an incident doesn't repeat. We also expect that the incident that took place on August 9 and also on August 14, by the TMC goons – to vandalise the peaceful protest, action must be taken against it also, in the next hearing. It's all happening by a shared role of the state government, and Kolkata police,” says BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.
Full View #WATCH | Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj says, "Doctors across the country, including those in Delhi, are on strike. They are demanding that the Central Government for a law for the security of doctors. I believe that the manner in which doctors are often misbehaved with,… pic.twitter.com/ZKcYwxl9NR
— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2024
#WATCH | Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj says, "Doctors across the country, including those in Delhi, are on strike. They are demanding that the Central Government for a law for the security of doctors. I believe that the manner in which doctors are often misbehaved with,… pic.twitter.com/ZKcYwxl9NR
— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2024
Police resorts to lathi charge at ABVP activists during protest rally
The police on Tuesday resorted to a "mild lathi-charge" and arrested over 20 ABVP activists after a scuffle between them during a march to the West Bengal health department headquarters to protest against the alleged rape and murder of an RG Kar Hospital medic.
The protestors demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who also doubles up as the state's health and home minister.
The police had put up barricades at several roads leading to Swasthya Bhavan, which the ABVP activists tried to breach, a senior officer said.
"We have only one demand - the resignation of the chief minister. What happened at the (RG Kar) hospital is unthinkable," a woman ABVP activist said.
The police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the protestors and arrested over 20 ABVP activists including its national secretary Rahul Rana.
"Among those arrested, there were four women," a senior police officer of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate said.
SC orders removal of name, photos, videos of deceased
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the removal of the name, photos and videos of the trainee doctor, who was raped and murdered in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, from all social media platforms.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said disclosure of the identity of a victim of sexual assault is a violation of its order passed in the Nipun Saxena case.
"The pictures and video clips of the body of the deceased has been circulating on social media...we direct that name, photographs and video clippings of the deceased be immediately removed from all social media platforms," the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by lawyer Kinnori Ghosh and others against the disclosure of the victim medic's identity on social media.