Mr Mitra's “unsolicited, unnecessary and unsympathetic comments on June 28 have tarnished our party's image and go against the party's firm stand”: State TMC president and Rajya Sabha MP
KOLKATA: The student's gangrape by a young Trinamul Congress leader and his aides at South Calcutta Law College has triggered a storm within the ruling party of West Bengal, thanks to its elected representatives’ tirade against the victim, their fellows and party lines.
On Sunday, Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra questioned the 24-year-old student’s purpose to visit her academic institution on the fateful day. This was the second time in a span of 24 hours when he stumped his party that already disapproved of his similar comments in a statement.
Referring to the victim, the former state minister said this time, “You knew them. You were also aware of none present at the college. You were offered the general secretary's post in the girls' section. Why did you go alone there to get the post? Why didn't you take your friends or parents with you or didn't inform our party workers for your visit?”
He argued, “The college was empty. The perpetrators took advantage of the situation.” State TMC president and Rajya Sabha MP Subrata Bakshi immediately issued a show cause notice to Mr Mitra “for violating party discipline” and sought his explanation within three days.
In the notice, Mr Bakshi stated that Mr Mitra's “unsolicited, unnecessary and unsympathetic comments on June 28 have tarnished our party's image and go against the party's firm stand.”
On the other hand, Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee declared his “hate” for his fellow parliamentarian from Krishnanagar Mahua Moitra over her dig at him for wondering “if rape can happen between two friends.”
On Saturday evening Ms Moitra, in context of the party's disapproval of Mr Banerjee’s controversial statement, posted on X-handle, “Misogyny in India cuts across party lines. What differentiates @AITCofficial is that we condemn these disgusting comments no matter who makes them.”
Hitting back at her on Sunday, Mr Banerjee alleged, “My first question is whether she has returned to India or not after her overseas honeymoon for one month and a half. If so, has she started going after people again? I'm not anti-women. I speak for women the most. But Ms Moitra is so anti-women that she doesn't allow any promising woman from her parliamentary constituency to rise.”
He then claimed, “I hate only her, none else. She joined our party years after 2011, became an MLA in 2016 amid TMC’s good times and is now exploiting her parliamentarianship every way. I don't consider someone a mentally stable woman who breaks another woman's marriage and then marries her 65-year-old husband.”
Meanwhile, a National Commission for Women team visited the college but was not allowed by the police to carry cell phones and cameras to click photos or record videos of the site. In another development, the police have decided to conduct DNA tests of the accused and the victim.
