Amid the escalating row over the rape case in West Bengal, the opposition BJP and the Congress on Sunday held protests in various places across the state. The protest was held in view of the alleged gang rape of a medical student in Durgapur, seeking exemplary punishment of the accused.
As reported by news agency PTI, another opposition party, the CPI(M), and the BJP questioned the law and order situation in West Bengal after the alleged incident and claimed that the state is not safe for women.
Highlighting that nobody involved in the alleged gang rape of a medical student at Durgapur will be spared, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged female boarders, especially those from outside the state, to follow hostel rules and not venture out late at night.
The statement by Mamata Banerjee urging female boarders to stay inside during the late hours has also created a backlash across the country. While women`s safety in West Bengal is something that looks to be hanging on a cliff, the statements from the Chief Minister lack assurance towards women`s safety.
In connection with the Durgapur gang rape case, the West Bengal Police has already arrested three persons, all residents of Durgapur, reported by news agency PTI.
On the other hand, the CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty also criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying that by asking female students not to venture out at night, she made it clear that West Bengal is not safe for women.
Along with the other opposition party supporters and leader, BJP supporters also held a protest march and staged a sit-in outside the Asansol South police station.
Former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee went to the hospital in Durgapur, where the student was undergoing treatment. However, the senior BJP leader was not allowed entry by police personnel.
The Bharatiya Janata Party also held a protest in front of the City Centre in Durgapur, which is one of the largest industrial cities in West Bengal.
Furthermore, the women Congress workers have also gone to the hospital, demanding that they be allowed to speak with the authorities.
Also the Left Front chairman, Biman Bose, demanded capital punishment for those found guilty.
Chakraborty, a former CPI(M) Lok Sabha MP, said, “By asking women students not to venture out at night, the chief minister has made it clear that Kolkata, the safest city, or Durgapur, a safe city, was a propaganda campaign.”
He further added that “she has made it apparent that the state is now not safe for women,” as cited by news agency PTI.
Pointing to the chief minister`s advice to female hostel boarders over venturing out at night-time, BJP`s West Bengal unit president Samik Bhattacharya has further claimed that this is an “admission” that there is “no law and order” in the state.
(With inputs from PTI)