Didi on the backfoot

 For TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, her cup of woe seems to overflow after her party suffered a setback at the hands of the resurgent BJP in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections in the state. Barely a month after the bad news comes the strike by the entire medical doctors in the state which has paralysed the medical services for the sixth consecutive day. It all started with an incident on June 10, 2019 when septuagenarian Mohammad Sayeed, died at the NRS Hospital in Kolkata following what the hospital calls a massive cardiac arrest. His death triggered a series of unfortunate events when the relatives blamed doctors for negligence. The verbal abuses and threats continued at the staff of Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital. Later a mob of around 200 stormed the hospital and assaulted doctors with one of them being seriously injured with a fractured skull. What started as a fightback by junior doctors touched the medical fraternity at large. It soon transcended the geographical boundary of the state to become a national concern. Medical doctors of the state called for a protest that spread across Bengal. Mamata had threatened to invoke the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act and issued a deadline to return to work but to no avail. She has blamed the BJP for instigating the protests. Even the Calcutta High Court on Friday handed a snub to the Mamata government by refusing to pass any interim order on the strike by junior doctors. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) comprising of around 3.5 lakh doctors nationwide have also called for a 24-hour strike on June 17. The doctors on strike have called for stricter police protection and government regulations after the rising incidents of attacks against them. They have asked for the arrest of all the culprits involved in the NRS attack. They also want the chief minister to tender an unconditional apology for the intimidating manner in which she addressed protesting doctors at the SSKM Hospital. The current incident has also become embroiled in a political imbroglio, with communal undertones. Her pandering to minorities even after the poll setback has completely isolated a section of the majority community where a whopping 57 percent of them had voted for the saffron unit according to a CSDS post-poll survey. Mamata has been ruling Bengal like a despot and has been allowing her party goons to run riot. However, after the massive setback in the Lok Sabha election where her party could win only 28 of the expected 42 seats and the BJP nosing in close with 18 seats, Mamata seems to be going down. The doctors in Bengal signify the seething anger and frustration against Mamata’s style of functioning. The TMC has proved to be no better than the regime it replaced. Bengal used to be ruled by CPM goons who later switched sides to the TMC. The same habit continued since Mamata won Bengal in 2011 and 2016. Mamata has to eat humble pie and agree to the demands of the doctors. For a politician who never bowed down and who once dreamt of playing a big role in national affairs, Mamata is now left struggling to survive the onslaught from the BJP and the doctors’ strike could possibly be a sign of pent up anger against her misrule.