Kolkata/IBNS: The agitating junior doctors on Monday announced to withdraw their fast unto death on the 17th day of their hunger strike after a two-hour-long meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at state secretariat Nabanna. 

The doctors also called off the health strike on Tuesday, which was announced last week, since according to them, the general people of the state would suffer as a result of the same.

Speaking to reporters from their agitation site, one of the junior doctors, Debasish Halder, said: "Since many supporters from the civil society including Abhaya's parents have requested us to withdraw the hunger strike, therefore respecting their demands, we are eending our fast unto death."

On their decision to not go on a complete health strike on Tuesday, Debasish Halder said: "We don't think the administration cares about the general people, and taking such a drastic step would trouble the people."

Elaborating on the meeting with the chief minister, he said: "We have been asked time and again why we are demanding committees to be established in medical colleges, let us make it clear these are required for the eradication of threat culture and sexual harassment. The Chief Minister has agreed to hold elections in March 2025."

However, the doctors expressed disappointment over the CM's refusal to remove Principal Health Secretary Nayaran Swaroop Nigam.

"We took a file listing all the allegations against the Principal Health Secretary but we were not allowed to discuss the same over there."

"Although the honourable CM promised to look into our demands and give out directives related to our meeting, we didn't see a positive gesture from the administration. We were not allowed to speak on threat culture. She said why we didn't inform her about the threat culture before but we think she knows all about these as such allegations were raised repeatedly in the past," Debasish Halder said.

The highly-anticipated meeting between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and protesting junior doctors aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis following the brutal rape and murder of a medic at RG Kar Medical College took place for nearly two hours on Monday evening.

The meeting saw some altercations too with Mamata Banerjee agreeing to some of their demands but refusing to remove the Principal Health Secretary Nayaran Swaroop Nigam.

Banerjee said without any proof, no individual can be held accused and therefore action cannot be taken right now. "You cannot accuse anyone without proof," she said.

The meeting, held on the 17th day of the fast unto death by a section of protesting doctors, was streamed live for the first time from the state secretariat Nabanna even though that was not announced.

Banerjee urged the junior doctors to end their fast, asserting that most of their demands had been met, although she rejected their request for the removal of the state health secretary.

"At RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, several junior doctors and medical students were suspended without following proper procedures. How can these students or resident doctors be suspended based solely on complaints? Who granted the college authorities the right to take such actions without informing the state government? Isn’t this a threat culture?" she questioned.

In response, Aniket Mahato, an agitating doctor who was hospitalised after five days of fasting, stated that those suspended "have been very much part of the threat culture and don't deserve to be doctors.

"If needed, the state government can assess their performance and then decide. The atmosphere at the medical college has been poisoned by these individuals masquerading as students. A review of their answer sheets would show that they don't even deserve passing marks," he added.

The Chief Minister has promised to look into their demands.

The junior doctors launched their hunger strike earlier this month after the state government failed to meet their 24-hour deadline for addressing their demands. They had been protesting for over two months now after a fellow junior medic was brutally raped and murdered at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

Earlier the doctors had called off their "total cease work" strike, which had severely impacted healthcare services at state-run medical colleges and hospitals.