When it became clear on Thursday evening that a meeting between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and junior doctors was not going to happen, the CM came to do a press conference. The biggest statement from Mamata that came from this press conference was when she said she’s “ready to resign for people’s interest.”
“Our government has faced a lot of insult…There is a colour [political colour in the protests]. People came out on the streets for justice. But I hope people are understanding that…they [the Opposition] just want the chair. I am ready to resign in the interest of the people,” Mamata said, leaving many stunned, especially those in the Trinamool Congress.
Junior doctors sitting outside the secretariat told News18, “We don’t want her chair or her resignation. This was an apolitical movement. This movement is now the country’s movement. We are here for Abhaya’s justice. The protest will continue and we will wait.”
BJP leader Roopa Ganguly said, “Let us start tomorrow’s day with this good news. She should at least resign from the post of Health Minister tomorrow.”
What Made Mamata Make Such a Statement?
The big question that everyone has been asking since then is what led to Mamata Banerjee making such a statement.
A lot of theories have been doing the rounds on why Mamata made such a statement. A section of experts have said that the entire Abhaya protest has embarrassed the West Bengal government in every way and has raised leading questions on the police administration. This might be an emotional counter pressure that Mamata Banerjee is trying to put, experts said.
Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty told News18, “A major section of people wanted Mamata’s resignation and there were slogans from the opposition too, because she is the Health Minister of the state. But the fact that Mamata herself came and said that she was ready to resign has directly put pressure on student doctors and a section of common people. Doctors had to say they were not looking for the chair. Here, Mamata won immediately. Mamata Banerjee wanted to create this pressure.”
“Moreover, through this act, the state has made itself legal battle ready. The state will say it in Supreme Court that they have tried to convince doctors in every way and the CM herself waited for talks for more than two hours and she herself wanted to resign. This is old Mamata style,” Chakraborty said.
Interestingly, Mamata, during her career, has tried to portray multiple times that does not want the post or is not interested in it. On Thursday, too, she tried to show the same – that she is for justice and not for the chair.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee also hit an emotional chord with her supporters and party workers, who would now try to build up and gain public opinion in favour of the TMC. The video of Mamata waiting for students was shared on social media by all big and small leaders and cadres of the party, in a bid to show that in Bengal, the CM waits for more than 2 hours but protestors do not come to meet her, all for live streaming.
In Kolkata, though, doctors have been getting a lot of support from the common people. As doctors continued to protest for more than three days, it’s hard to tell whether this situation will change and a solution will come up.
The Opposition, on the other hand, has attacked Mamata over her statement with BJP leader Suvendu Adhikary stating that this was all a “drama” by Mamata and that there was no bar from the Supreme Court to telecast the meeting live.
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