West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum (WBJDF), which is spearheading the movement against the brutal rape and murder of the trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital, will stage a mega rally on October 2.
The rally will coincide with the twin occasions of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday and Mahalaya Amavasya (A significant day in Hinduism for performing rituals to honour ancestors).
The decision was taken at a mass convention organised by the forum at the auditorium of state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata on Friday evening.
The rally will be followed by a meeting at Esplanade in Central Kolkata. At the same time, a symbolic statue representing a “woman in pain” will also be placed at R.G Kar in memory of the victim, said a WBJDF representative.
Before that on September 29, the protesting junior doctors will be organising protests at their respective localities associating with the local people. The unique protest programme on September 29 has been christened as “Parai thkachi eksath, Utsave Noi Protibade” (Together at locality, but in protest and not celebrating festival).
“We are not in a mental state to celebrate the festival on the occasion of the forthcoming Durga Puja. We are not asking anybody to be away from the festival. But enjoying the festival is simply not possible for us this year,” said a forum representative.
Noted social activist Bolan Gangopadhyay, who was present at the mass convention as a speaker, said that only spontaneous mass protests can send a message to the judicial system that people want quick justice in this case. “Common people are no longer relying on political parties to spearhead the movement,” she said.
A crucial hearing on the rape and murder case is scheduled at the Supreme Court on September 30. Originally the hearing was scheduled on September 27 but it was postponed to September 30, following a plea from the state government.
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