Factionalism in West Bengal Medical Council comes to fore as Trinamool heavyweights lock horns

‘This is nothing but dirty politics between two corrupt leaders of the current ruling political dispensation,’ a member of Joint Platform of Doctors, a Bengal-based senior doctors’ organisation, said

Factionalism continues to haunt the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC), with Trinamool Congress MLA and WBMC president Sudipto Roy demanding the removal of fellow physician and former Trinamool MP Santanu Sen from the council.

The WBMC has been in the eye of the storm following the rape and murder of a female doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) on August 9.

“Dr Santanu Sen was absent in the consecutive meetings held on 12-01-2024, 08-02-2024, 10-02-2024, 01-03-2024, 02-03-2024, 04-04-2024 without sufficient excuse and thus the seat of Dr Sen has deemed to have vacated under Section 9(1)(a) of Bengal Medical Act, 1914 (as amended),” Dr. Roy’s letter to the State Health Secretary on Tuesday (November 19) read.

In the letter, the TMC MLA from West Bengal’s Sreerampur also urged the State government to nominate a suitable candidate for Dr. Sen’s vacant seat. 

“I have communicated my response to these allegations in writing directly to the Health Secretary. I believe he will take my letter into consideration,” Dr. Sen told mediapersons on Wednesday.

Earlier, the alleged role of the WBMC president in financial irregularities at the RGKMCH was questioned, and his properties were raided by investigating agencies in September, following the doctor’s rape and murder. 

Around the same time, Dr. Sen, a former Rajya Sabha MP, had expressed his displeasure on the functioning of the WBMC and the RGKMCH. He was removed from his post as the Trinamool Congress’s spokesperson in August this year, following his vocal criticism of former RGKMCH principal Sandip Kumar Ghosh, who was later arrested over allegations of financial irregularities at the institution, and for evidence tampering and delay in filing the First Information Report (FIR) in the rape and murder case.

Meanwhile, the Joint Platform of Doctors, a Bengal-based senior doctors’ organisation, has alleged discrepancies in Dr. Roy’s allegations against Dr. Sen. In an initial letter on the same issue, the council president had reportedly mentioned two more dates on which the latter had been allegedly absent — August 9 and August 10. 

The victim’s body was discovered at the RGKMCH on August 9.

“This is nothing but dirty politics between two corrupt leaders of the current ruling political dispensation here in West Bengal,” senior physician and member of Joint Platform of Doctors, Subarna Goswami, told The Hindu.

“Two separate letters signed by Dr. Roy have come to our hands. In the original letter, two significant dates, that is, 09/8/24 and 10/8/24, were written as the dates of the meetings where Dr. Sen was absent, but these two dates were removed in the revised letter,” he added.

This year, amidst widespread protests in the State over corruption and allegations of a ‘threat culture’ in the State’s healthcare system, hundreds of senior doctors had demanded fresh elections to the WBMC, alleging corruption and legal discrepancies in its functioning. 

They had also demanded the removal of the current WBMC registrar Manas Chakraborty, who has allegedly held his position even after his extended tenure drew to a close. 

Published - November 20, 2024 08:52 pm IST