Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, already facing criticism from the BJP over the rape and murder of a doctor at a Kolkata hospital, responded sharply to Congress on Wednesday evening. This reaction came shortly after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s critical remark about the “local administration’s” handling of the case.
Ms. Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress is part of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, also challenged her staunch opponents, the CPI (Marxist), by pointing out that “heinous crimes” had occurred in Bengal during the Left party’s tenure and that “many incidents” had been reported in Congress-ruled states as well.
“I want to ask Congress… how many incidents have taken place in your states… what action do you take? And under CPIM rule there were a plethora of heinous crimes (and) the then government was silent. Since there was no social media then… people were not so aware,” she declared.
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Referring to the late iconic Left leader and former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who passed away last week, Mamata Banerjee highlighted that “a lot of heinous crimes took place” during his tenure from 2000 to 2011.
Earlier, Mr. Gandhi had remarked on X that “the attempt to save the accused, instead of providing justice to the victim, raises serious questions on the hospital and the local administration.”
The Congress and the Trinamool Congress are allies, but their relationship is often unstable, as highlighted by the contentious seat-sharing discussions leading up to the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Ultimately, the Trinamool Congress chose to contest independently, running against both the Left and Congress.
Until Mr. Gandhi’s tweet, the Congress had remained relatively silent on the case, with only Priyanka Gandhi Vadra making a cautious statement.
‘Do not abuse Bangla Maa….’
Ms. Banerjee also criticized the BJP, which has organized protests calling for her resignation.
“Abuse me as much as you want… there are people running a smear campaign on social media. But do not abuse ‘Bangla Maa…'” she continued, invoking the party’s ‘Maa, Mati, Manush‘ war-cry.
Ms. Banerjee, who oversees Bengal’s Police, Home, and Health ministries, is under intense pressure for accountability due to allegations from the doctor’s parents regarding significant failures by the hospital administration.
The parents have also petitioned the High Court, accusing the police of negligence. However, the police have rejected claims that they treated the death as a ‘suicide’ and hurried to cremate the body, describing these reports as false.
Since points 1 & 2 concern Kolkata Police, we wish to clarify:
1. Reports of KP informing the family about a possible suicide are false. The family confirmed the call did not come from KP
2. KP didn’t cremate the body of deceased. It was her family who cremated her. https://t.co/ktoVv8scjZ— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) August 14, 2024
“I was in Jhargram… I was on my way when I spoke to CP (Kolkata police chief Vineet Kumar Goyal). I also spoke to the parents of the victim and assured them the police will investigate and that I want capital punishment. I stand with what I have said since the first day…” Ms Banerjee said today.
The Chief Minister also stated that the police had gathered DNA evidence and CCTV footage, and that an accused, Sanjoy Roy, was arrested within 12 hours. “I visited their residence and took stock, minute-by-minute, of the situation all night. Police also escorted the body of the victim and throughout the investigation like DNA, CCTV footage – everything was carried out and within 12 hours murderer was arrested.”
Roy, who is now in the custody of the CBI, was transferred to their oversight by the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, which overruled Ms. Banerjee’s seven-day deadline for the police to resolve the case.
The court’s decision was viewed as a direct challenge to Ms. Banerjee’s administration. She said, “For any investigation, you need to give time. I had set a deadline till Sunday. You cannot take action against anyone without proper investigation. I respect both senior and junior doctors.”
“I cannot arrest people without proper investigation.” The Bengal government, however, “will completely follow the High Court and is cooperating with CBI”, she also said.
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