She also said her government has not invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) even after five days of the strike by the junior doctors. "If the junior doctors think I am incapable, they can always talk to the governor or the chief secretary... or the commissioner of police," she said. The agitating doctors turned down her request saying there was no honest effort on her part to break the deadlock. The agitating junior doctors also rubbished Banerjee's claims that a few of their colleagues visited her at the state secretariat. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan asked states to consider enacting specific legislation for protecting doctors and medical professionals from any form of violence in the wake Bengal assault on junior doctors.

Source: dna June 15, 2019 16:56 UTC