'Go about with your boyfriend...we won't protect': TMC MP sparks row over comments on Doctors' strike

TMC MP Arup Chakraborty has sparked controversy with his remarks targeting doctors who are on strike following the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital earlier this month. Speaking at a rally in Bankura on Sunday, Chakraborty warned that the government would not protect doctors if public anger turns against them due to the ongoing strike.

"In the name of the movement, you may go home or go about with your boyfriend. If a patient dies because of your strike and public anger falls on you, we will not save you," Chakraborty stated, drawing criticism from various quarters.

When questioned by reporters after the rally, the MP reiterated his stance, saying, "Doctors are on strike. In the name of a strike, if they go out and people don’t get treatment, naturally their anger will fall on them. We can’t save them."

The strike has been marked by tensions, with an attack on protesting doctors at RG Kar Hospital on August 14. Hundreds of miscreants reportedly barged into the hospital, assaulted some protesters and police personnel, and vandalized the protest site and the ground floor of the emergency building.

While some TMC leaders have expressed support for the doctors and called for strict action against the attackers, others have staunchly defended the Mamata Banerjee government. TMC leader Bengal Udayan Guha previously made a strong statement against critics of the Chief Minister, threatening to "break their fingers."

In a similar vein, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee dismissed any possibility of the Mamata Banerjee government being toppled, likening the situation to Bangladesh and warning that the party would boycott artists critical of the government.