Mamata Gets a Dose of Her Own Medicine

In her thoughts and words, Mamata and movement are synonymous. She feels pride in her role in the anti-farmland acquisition protests in Singur and Nandigram, viewing them as political milestones that served as her springboard for her success and power. However, she did not anticipate the movement she once glorified would backfire in her backyard.

The lessons she tried to teach Gen Z have ironically returned to haunt her. The monthlong apolitical protest by Bengal’s junior doctors over their friend’s rape and murder is proving to be her toughest challenge as an administrator.

Initially, she ignored the movement, tried politicising it to create divisions, and questioned the ethics of depriving the poor of treatment and healthcare. She summoned senior doctors who supported the protestors, arrested a few social media activists, and paraded the families of patients who died during the strike as a veiled threat to the strikers.

But the protest grew into a mass movement, uniting people across all socio-economic backgrounds, ages, and genders in the call for justice. They empathised with the loss, making it more than just the tragedy of one family.

Mamata became unnerved, unable to handle teeming millions who were in no mood to listen or have faith in her assurances. With the Supreme Court taking suo motu cognisance of the heinous incident, there was an added pressure of being under the judiciary’s close watch.

Being image-conscious, Mamata Banerjee visited the dharna on September 14th. She took a big leap to end the impasse over the junior doctor’s strike vis-à-vis their five-point demands, which included the arrest of culprits, the removal of Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and two other IPS officers, taking disciplinary action against former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Principal Sandip Ghosh, and safety and security measures as valid conditions for resuming work.

The chief minister’s appearance on day 35 surprised some, though seasoned observers knew her intent. Heavy rain had damaged the protest site, but the junior doctors remained undeterred. With the case now in CBI court, the government blamed delays on the agency. However, the public saw through this, recognising an attempt to downplay the junior doctor’s rape and murder as just another crime, blaming a minor civic volunteer.

Mamata needed a photo-op, and things unfolded as planned. Some junior doctors saw a sign of genuine reconciliation. A few emails later, they arrived at her doorstep for dialogue, sticking to their five-point demand. They requested the discussion be live-streamed for transparency—hardly unreasonable, given Mamata’s frequent use of live-streaming for government events and party meetings. However, Mamata was adamant about not going live on air.

The striking doctors gave no scope for complaints of disruption and law and order issues over their protest marches. In fact, on two occasions of face-to-face exchanges between the chief minister and the agitating doctors, they stood with folded hands, calm but firm in their resolve and not ready to budge. If the chief minister wanted the government to videotape the entire dialogue, they also made a legitimate demand to do so from their end. But the government was unwilling. Mamata appealed to the doctors to have faith in her and her administration. And this was something doctors knew could not be relied upon.

Trust in this government is rapidly eroding, and much of the blame falls on Mamata. Each time a scam breaks, she claims ignorance. Bengal is growing weary of her holier-than-thou stance. Scandals like the education recruitment scam, food scam, and Ponzi schemes have implicated her ministers or close associates. Her continued insistence on being unaware of these wrongdoings, even in her own circle, is hard to accept. In the latest health department scandal—ranging from exam bribes to organ theft—Mamata again pleads ignorance, despite being the health minister.

The meeting finally took place on September 16th, when Mamata agreed to change the police commissioner and a couple of health officials as per the doctor’s demands. However, she was not ready to change her health secretary, Narayan Swaroop Nigam, on the pretext that she needed an experienced person to hand-hold the new officers. The doctors are firm on having his ouster as he chose to ignore the red flags―the 1000-page investigation report on corruption in the hospital that former deputy super of R. G. Kar, Akhtar Ali, raised in 2023. Three out of five demands have been met. But the fear of unlit passages, insufficient CCTVs, inadequate toilets, no restrooms for women, the same contractual civic volunteers on the run, and the same mid-and junior-level health officials and interns, who were complicit with corruption, still roaming free, returning to normalcy appears to be a far cry.

The doctors will continue with their strike till the atmosphere is safe and conducive for them to work. The Supreme Court has given credence to their worries.

The junior doctors have sought another meeting with the chief secretary soon to take stock of the status of their demands. Until then, Mamata cannot breathe easily. The meeting must happen. There’s no escaping either for Mamata or her government till the demand for justice is met. The world is watching!

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Kolkata. Views personal.)