The West Bengal government on Saturday said that the mass resignation of doctors from state-run hospitals is not valid, and it must be submitted individually according to the service rules.
Senior doctors from state-run medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal have resigned en masse, sparking a wave of support from doctors at the College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital and Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (PGMER).
The doctors from these hospitals are also set to tender their resignations, further pressuring the Mamata Banerjee-led government.
In response, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, clarified that the government will not accept the mass resignations.
“Resignations are an individual matter between the employee and employer according to the rule book. These collective letters have no legal value,” Bandyopadhyay said, dismissing the resignations as a “misconception.”
“We have received scattered letter from different government hospitals,” he added.
The government maintains that the mass resignations are not legally valid as they were not submitted on an individual basis, further intensifying the standoff.
Earlier this week, a group of senior doctors at R G Kar Medical College sent a collectively signed “mass resignation” letter in solidarity with their protesting junior colleagues. Subsequently, similar letters were sent by doctors from other state-run hospitals.
Junior doctors at several government hospitals in the state are on a fast-unto-death demanding justice for their murdered colleague, the resignation of the state’s health secretary, and enhanced workplace security.