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Sougata’s ‘woman CM’ remarks draw TMC ire

“Even a single incident of women abuse is a matter of shame for a state with a woman chief minister. This should not be tolerated and immediate action should be taken after such incidents. I am sure that police will look into the matter,”

Sougata’s ‘woman CM’ remarks draw TMC ire

TMC MP Sougata Roy (PTI file photo)

The comment by Trinamul Congress MP Sougata Roy, that it is shameful if rape incidents keep occurring in the state where a woman is a chief minister, has caused a flutter within his party while opposition CPI-M and Congress termed him a “frank parliamentarian” who ought to knock some sense into Mamata Banerjee who made “outrageous” comments on the Hanskhali incident.

While speaking at an event at Dakshineshwar, the TMC MP said that the entire state is concerned about the reports of abuse against women in West Bengal. He said the state government must show zero tolerance against such crimes. The senior parliamentarian added that it is embarrassing if such abuses against women keep happening in Bengal where the chief minister is a woman.

“Even a single incident of women abuse is a matter of shame for a state with a woman chief minister. This should not be tolerated and immediate action should be taken after such incidents. I am sure that police will look into the matter,” Roy said. He went on to say: “Not a single incident of atrocity against woman would be tolerated. Strict action would have to be pursued to curb such incidents . We are all very concerned over the safety of women in the state.”

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Many within the TMC, including Birbhum MP Shatabdi Roy, criticised Sougata Roy’s comment. “It does not matter whether a CM is a man or a woman. Rape is not acceptable in any civilised society,” said Shatabdi.

CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty said that Sougata Roy was right to have condemned such acts openly instead of making “outrageous” comments like Mamata. He added that TMC MP needs to first talk some sense into his party chief whose comments allegedly had shocked the entire state. He said that in most such cases the accused are TMC members who then are threatening the victims’ families to suppress the incident.

The WBPCC chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that Roy was a frank parliamentarian but at present, his condemnation of the incident does not matter since the law and order in the state have reached such an extent that the only choice now left is to invoke Article 355 in West Bengal. Chowdhury said he has already written to the President of India requesting the same.

The BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said that Sougata Roy, instead of giving tall speeches from Dakshineshwar, should go to Kalighat to explain to Mamata.

Earlier, the chief minister Mamata Banerjee, commenting on the alleged gang rape in Hanskhali, mentioned speculations surrounding the victim which included a “love affair” angle and the woman being pregnant. The chief minister had said, “What has happened is not right. I condemn it. The police have arrested the accused. But the opposition parties and a section of the media are trying to give a political twist to the entire event. I have received the news that there was a love affair between the accused and the victim. So why come to a conclusion before the investigation is completed.”

The Trinamul Congress’ Krishnanagar MP, Mahua Moitra, in what seemed an image makeover attempt, recently said that under the POCSO Act 2012 even consensual sex is considered rape if it involves a minor girl and she is totally against such incidents but cannot speak for others.

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