Mamata Banerjee angrily criticizes Congress and Rahul Gandhi over doctor’s rape-murder

Kolkata:

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – already facing criticism from the BJP over the sexual assault and homicide of a doctor at a Kolkata hospital – retaliated against allies Congress Wednesday evening, shortly after party MP Rahul Gandhi’s caustic remark about the management of the situation by the “local authorities”.

Ms Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress is part of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, also challenged fierce rivals CPI (Marxist), asserting “atrocious offenses” had been committed in Bengal while the Left party was in power and “many incidents” had been reported from Congress-ruled states.

“I want to inquire of Congress… how many incidents have occurred in your states… what measures do you take? And during CPIM rule there were numerous atrocious offenses (and) the then government was silent. Since there was no social media then… people were not so informed,” she proclaimed.

Referring to iconic Left leader and former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who passed away last week, she emphasized “a lot of atrocious offenses took place” while he was in power from 2000 to 2011.

Earlier Mr Gandhi stated on X that “the effort to shield the accused, instead of delivering justice to the victim, raises serious questions on the hospital and the local administration”.

The Congress and the Trinamool are allies but their relationship is unpredictable, a condition highlighted in the lead-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when there was intense speculation over seat-sharing.

In the end, the Trinamool contested independently, against the Left and the Congress.

Until Mr Gandhi’s tweet, the Congress had maintained a cautious silence on this case, with only Priyanka Gandhi Vadra making a cautious statement.

“Criticize Me As Much As You Desire…”

Ms Banerjee also criticized the BJP – which has initiated demonstrations demanding her resignation.

“Criticize me as much as you desire… there are individuals conducting a defamation campaign on social media. But do not criticize ‘Bangla Maa…'” she continued, invoking the party’s ‘Maa, Mati, Manush‘ slogan.

Ms Banerjee holds Bengal’s Police, Home, and Health ministries and faces strong demands for answerability amid accusations by the doctor’s parents of serious oversights by hospital administration.

The parents also petitioned the High Court alleging negligence by the police. The officers, however, dismissed as untrue reports claiming they classified the death as ‘suicide’ and hurried to cremate the body.

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 mentioned that the police had obtained DNA and CCTV footage and that an accused – Sanjoy Roy – was apprehended within 12 hours. “I visited their residence and evaluated, minute-by-minute, 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, now in the custody of the CBI, which was given the case by the Calcutta High Court Tuesday after it overruled Ms Banerjee’s seven-day deadline for the police to solve this case.

The court’s ruling was viewed as a direct assault on Ms Banerjee’s government, and she criticized firmly, stating, “For any investigation, you need to give time. I had set a deadline until Sunday. You cannot take action against anyone without proper investigation. I respect both senior and junior doctors.”

“I cannot apprehend individuals without proper investigation.” The Bengal government, however, “will completely adhere to the High Court and is cooperating with CBI”, she also stated.