New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Wednesday criticised ally Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal over last week’s rape and murder of a junior doctor, saying attempts were being made to “save the accused”.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha wrote on X that efforts to save those guilty instead of providing justice to the victim raised “serious questions” about the hospital and the local administration.
The body of the 31-year-old victim, who was a postgraduate trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, was found in a seminar hall on the morning of 9 August, where she had apparently retired to sleep the night before.
Police have arrested a hospital volunteer in connection with the gruesome assault in Kolkata’s 138-year-old medical institute. The Calcutta High Court has already handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Rahul’s attack on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government adds a new twist to the blow-hot, blow-cold relationship between the two parties. Although the TMC refused to directly tie up with the Congress in the last Lok Sabha election, it has stood with the INDIA parties in Parliament.
The latest flashpoint between the two was Mamata attending a recent NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi, which other INDIA chief ministers boycotted. It was seen as an attempt to distinguish the TMC from the Congress-led opposition bloc and not be playing second fiddle to it. During her Delhi visit, the Trinamool chief also said the Congress was in cahoots with the Left and the BJP in Bengal.
Rahul’s attack on the TMC government comes on the back of the BJP asking why opposition parties were silent on the rape-murder.
In a statement on X, the senior Congress leader said that the entire country was in shock over the incident, which should compel every political party and society at large to ponder over the reason behind the recurrence of such crimes despite strict laws.
He wrote: “The entire country is shocked over the rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata. The attempt to save the accused instead of providing justice to the victim raises serious questions on the hospital and the local administration.”
The Rae Bareli MP added if doctors were not safe in a place like a medical college, how would parents send their daughters outside for studies.
कोलकाता में जूनियर डॉक्टर के साथ हुई रेप और मर्डर की वीभत्स घटना से पूरा देश स्तब्ध है। उसके साथ हुए क्रूर और अमानवीय कृत्य की परत दर परत जिस तरह खुल कर सामने आ रही है, उससे डॉक्टर्स कम्युनिटी और महिलाओं के बीच असुरक्षा का माहौल है।
पीड़िता को न्याय दिलाने की जगह आरोपियों को…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 14, 2024
“Why are even the strict laws made after the Nirbhaya case unsuccessful in preventing such crimes? Every party, every section of the society will have to hold serious discussions and take concrete steps on the continuously increasing incidents against women from Hathras to Unnao, and from Kathua to Kolkata,” his post said.
He further wrote: “I stand with the victim’s family in this unbearable pain. They should get justice at all costs and the culprits should be given such a punishment that it is presented as an example in the society.”
Despite the BJP’s goading, the Congress so far had been guarded in its response to the incident. On Monday, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posted on X that the incident highlighted the issue of safety of women at workplaces.
“I appeal to the state government to take immediate and strict action in this case and ensure justice to the victim’s family and fellow doctors,” she added, avoiding a more blunt attack on its partner.
No love lost?
Rahul Gandhi has never had a good rapport with the TMC supremo.
Many believe he is behind the decision to allow Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to continue as the party’s Bengal chief despite the former Berhampur MP’s frequent tirades against Mamata and the TMC government.
Mamata has also attacked Rahul on several occasions, from calling him an “upstart leader” in 2014 to criticising his decision to take the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ through West Bengal.
After taking over as LoP, Rahul however has come across as a more accommodative coalition leader. He spelt it out in as many words in his first speech in the Lok Sabha. “I realised after becoming the LoP that my personal dreams, aspirations have to be put aside. It’s my job to represent all opposition parties equally. When Hemant Soren or (Arvind) Kejriwal is in jail, it should disturb me,” he had said.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: ‘Attempt to save accused,’ Rahul Gandhi hits out at INDIA ally Mamata over junior doc’s rape & murder