West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee waits at doorstep with folded hands but live-stream derails 2nd talks attempt

KOLKATA: The demand for live-streaming killed the second attempt at a dialogue between the govt and junior doctors on Saturday, with the latter returning to their protest site, this time from the doorsteps of CM Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence.
A 30-member team of junior doctors had reached the CM's home at 6.40pm but refused to go in till their demand for live-streaming of the meeting was met.Banerjee — after waiting for an hour and 35 minutes inside her residence — came out and pleaded with folded hands for seven minutes, asking all 30 to come in. "We will record the entire proceedings but will not be able to release the video now as the case is being heard in the Supreme Court. Have faith in me," she first said.

The junior doctors then demanded videography of the meeting with a copy of the recording handed over to them as soon as it concluded. But this, too, was turned down by the CM on the grounds that the matter was sub judice. She instead offered to hand over minutes of the meeting.
"I will give you the minutes of the meeting," she said, and added, "Why did you send the letter (mailed by the doctors) if you did not want to come (and talk)? Why are you disrespecting me? I have been waiting for three days (to talk to you). You did not mention live-streaming in the letter. I will provide you with the minutes of the meeting and will sign it. I will record the video but cannot provide it today. I promise you, I will take the SC's permission and then provide you the video."
In a final appeal, the CM said, "Tomra chhoto, ami boro (You are younger, I am older). But I respect agitations. That was why I went to your protest site." But with the junior doctors sticking to their demand for live-streaming, Banerjee went back inside.
Around 45 minutes later, when the doctors were still deliberating on their course of action, minister of state for health Chandrima Bhattacharya and chief secretary Manoj Pant left the CM's home. While they were leaving, the junior doctors said they were ready to go ahead and accept the minutes of the meeting. But they claimed, Bhattacharya told them "it was too late".
Later, addressing the media, the protesting doctors said: "We are ready to sit anywhere and had demanded transparency. We asked for live-streaming. When they said it was not possible, we asked both parties to video record the meeting, which they refused. They said they would record the video and would provide it to us only after SC's permission. The CM asked us to come inside and have tea. We had a meeting among ourselves and decided meet them without video recording and were ready to only have the minutes. But when we went there to inform the same to them, then MOS Chandrima Bhattacharya said it was too late and no meeting was possible and left. We had faith in the CM but this is what we received in return. We are disappointed."
After returning to their protest site in Sector V and learning of the arrest of former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh and Tallah police station OC, the junior doctors claimed the govt had called off the talks on receiving news of the arrests by CBI.
"We were wondering why did she suddenly call off the meeting even when we had scaled down all our demands. Now we believe she had got the information about the arrest of Ghosh and the Tallah OC. It just proves all our demands are justified and that the health department and Kolkata Police were totally involved with the crime and its cover up. That is the reason we demand the resignation of the police commissioner and health department officials," one of the protesting doctors told newspersons.
Senior doctors, while disappointed at the meeting being called off the second time, remained optimistic that a breakthrough would be made soon.