Mamata Banerjee crtical; Army docs kept ready

Kolkata, Dec 28: The Army kept ready a team of doctors to attend to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee as her condition remained critical amid speculation on a possible breakthrough of the deadlock while West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee once again appealed to her to call off the hungerstrike that entered its 25th day today.

We have kept ready a team of army doctors to attend to Ms Banerjee as and when required by her or by her doctors,'' defence PRO (Eastern wing) R N Das told UNI.

Mr Das said an eight-member panel of doctors of Command Hospital has been constituted after a directive from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached the Army's Eastern Command Headquarters at Fort Williams last evening.

The Army doctors would take care of Ms Banerjee who was being put on intermittent oxygen support since Tuesday last, either in the Eastern Command hospital or at her dharna manch depending on her wish, he said.

Concerned at the deteriorating health of the Trinamool leader who began fasting on December 4 protesting '' forced'' acquisition of farmland at Singur in Hooghly district for Tata Motors small car factory, the Prime Minister instructed the central authorities to ask the Eastern Naval Command to provide whatever medical care was required for her.

Ms Banerjee complained of occasional breathlessness and weakness and has been lying behind a curtain drawn on a portion of her dharna manch in the city's downtown Esplanade area for the last two days.

She was being looked after by her family physician Dr Shyamapada Das and two of her party colleagues who are medical practitioners.

Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra told UNI this morning that the condition of Ms Banerjee was critical and she had to be put on oxygen support. '' She is in a very bad shape...her condition is critical. She is being provided intermittent oxygensupport,'' he said.

However, asserting that the ''ball is in the court of the state government and Mr Ratan Tata,'' Mr Mitra said they had no intention to handover the ailing party chief to the Army doctors as she did not want any kind of treatment and to get well unless and untill the government returned the forcibly acquired land to Singur farmers.

'' If Mamata wanted to get medical teatment she would well have called for it from her own doctors... she is an MP. There is no point for a person to take the pain of a struggle and go for a hunger strike for so long a period and then accept medical support before the demand is met,'' he said .

The Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee, spearheading the agitation on Singur, has charged the state government with forcibly taking away from farmers at least 406 acres out of the total 960 acres , acquired so far by the government for the small car project.

However the Chief Minister and his government have repeatedly denied the allegation saying no plot had been acquired without the consent of the owners.

UNI

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