Bengal Government Issues Fresh Invitation to Agitating Doctors for 5 PM Talks, Agrees to CM’s Presence but Rejects Live Telecast Demand

The West Bengal government is trying to calm the month-long protest by doctors in the wake of the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College. The Bengal government has issued a fresh invitation to the agitating doctors for talks at 5 pm on Thursday. In its letter, the government accepted the doctors' demand for the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the meeting but rejected their condition of live telecast of the talks.

The letter written by Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant also limits the number of delegations to no more than 15 people. Pant also mentioned that the meeting can be recorded to maintain transparency. The Bengal government's fresh invitation comes a day after rejecting the protesting doctors' demand for a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to end the impasse.

The letter states that the meeting will not be telecast live. However, it can be recorded to maintain transparency. This will serve the intended purpose on your part, as well as maintain the sanctity of the proceedings, ensuring that all discussions are accurately documented.

This is the third communication from the Bengal government to the doctors in the last two days, with the protesters rejecting the previous two proposals and laying down concrete conditions for the meeting. The protesting doctors are yet to respond to the state government's letter.