The women’s wing of Trinamool Congress on Tuesday started a 48-hour demonstration against the release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced the demonstration on August 29. She had described the release of convicts in Gujarat as “shameful”. On Tuesday, State Ministers Chandrima Bhattacharya and Sashi Panja, South Kolkata Lok Sabha MP Mala Roy and many others participated in the dharna at Kolkata’s Mayo Road.
“We are participating in the dharna as per instruction of our Chief Minister. The Bilkis Bano case is known to all and how her rapists were released by the Gujarat government on the day we were celebrating 75 years of independence,” the Minister said.
Ms. Bhattacharya also raised the incident where Border Security Force (BSF) personnel allegedly gang-raped a 23-year-old Indian woman in North 24 Parganas district. Minister Panja said that women in the country feel humiliated by the development in Gujarat. Ms. Panja, while referring to the recently released National Crime Records Bureau data, said that Delhi, whose law and order is under the jurisdiction of the Union Home Ministry, is one of the most unsafe cities in the country for women.
Role of central agencies
The Trinamool leadership also raised questions on the role of the central investigating agencies. During the day, Trinamool MLA Paresh Pal was summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with a post-election violence case. Mr. Pal was summoned over the probe into the murder of BJP worker Abhijit Sarkar in Kolkata on May 2, 2021. In another development, party MLA Subodh Adhikary, who was summoned by the CBI for questioning in connection with a chit fund case, has sought 15-day time to appear before it.
Meanwhile, the State government has plans to bring a resolution in the Assembly against the “misuse of central agencies” in the upcoming session. The government had brought similar resolutions in the Assembly against the increase in jurisdiction of BSF and National Register of Citizens (NRC) among others.
