Kolkata, Jan 25 (IANS) Following spontaneous and large-scale protests against the ghastly rape and murder of a junior woman doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata by representatives from the medical fraternity, the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has now decided to float its own association with representations from the different layers of the medical system chain in the state.
Party insiders said that the proposed joint-association will have representatives from junior and senior doctors, nursing staff and health workers.
In all probability, the West Bengal minister in charge of women and child development, social welfare and industry and commerce departments, Dr Sashi Panja will be heading the proposed platform as the chairperson.
Panja is a medical practitioner in her personal life. The proposed platform is likely to be named as Progressive Health Association.
Questions have been raised in the political circles in the state now on the justification of floating this new platform, when a Trinamool Congress-affiliated doctors’ body in the name and style of Progressive Doctors’ Association is already existing.
Recently, the infighting in Trinamool Congress, especially within the doctors; lobby within the party have become blatant over the R.G Kar tragedy.
Recently, senior party leader and the former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member, Dr Santanu Sen, who had been extremely vocal within the party on the R.G. Kar tragedy has been suspended from the party and also removed from the chair of the state government representative in the West Bengal Medical Council.
Earlier, Sen, himself a medical practitioner in personal life, had also been earlier removed from the chair of state spokesman of Trinamool Congress.
Since the R.G. Kar tragedy surfaced Sen had been extremely vocal within the party on this issue especially against the former and controversial principal of the institute, Sandip Ghosh.
Differences and distance between Sen and the Trinamool Congress leadership started since then. At that point of time a cold war surfaced between Sen and Trinamool Congress legislator and the president of the council, Sudipto Roy, also a medical practitioner in private life, whose office and nursing home was raided by the ED officials in connection with financial irregularities at R.G. Kar.
–IANS
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