Bengal govt will amend existing laws to ensure death penalty to rapists: Mamata

 Abhishek seeks stricter anti-rape laws,vows to move private member's Bill

PTI, 28 August, 2024, Kolkata :  Asserting that her government has zero tolerance to incidents of rape, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said an amendment to existing laws will be passed in the state assembly next week to ensure capital punishment to convicted rapists.

Banerjee said that she would sit for dharna outside Raj Bhavan if the governor delays in giving assent to the amended bill or forwards it to the President for ratification.

The chief minister also said that the TMC will launch a movement from Saturday at the state’s grassroots to create pressure on the Centre to pass legislation for capital punishment of convicted rapists.

“We will pass the amended bill in a special session of the assembly next week. We will then send it to the governor for his nod. We will stage dharna outside Raj Bhavan if he sits on the bill,” she thundered from the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad foundation day rally here.

Banerjee also urged the agitating junior doctors of Bengal, who have struck work for 20 days now to urgently consider returning to duty.

“I have remained sympathetic towards the cause of the doctors from the very beginning since they were seeking justice for their colleague. We did not take any action against them although so many days have passed since the incident. We understand your pain. But please come back to work now since patients are suffering,” she appealed.

Coming down heavily on the BJP for calling a 12-hour bandh, Banerjee said, “They called a bandh since they wanted political dividends over a dead body. The BJP is trying to exploit the emotions of ordinary people in the wake of the death of a young woman. They want to malign Bengal and plotted a conspiracy to derail the probe into her death so that the victim and her family do not get justice.” 

The police recovered the body of the woman postgraduate trainee doctor from the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The junior doctors of state-run hospitals have been on cease work since that evening, demanding justice for the victim and strong security measures in hospitals. Mamata added no FIR was lodged against any doctor so far as she does not want a medic’s career to be plagued by police cases.

"Sixteen days have passed since the Central Bureau of Investigation took over the doctor's rape-murder probe from the Kolkata Police. Where is the justice? We want the CBI to come up with investigation updates,” she said. Denouncing the BJP for calling a 12-hour general strike on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said: “They called the bandh since they wanted political dividends over a dead body. The BJP is trying to exploit the emotions of ordinary people in the wake of the death of the young woman. They want to malign Bengal and plotted a conspiracy to derail the probe into her death."

“If Bengal is set on fire, Assam, North-East, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Delhi will also be affected,” the TMC supremo said. On the demand for her resignation in the wake of the RG Kar hospital incident, Mamata said: “I will ask BJP why Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not resign owning up to his failure to prevent atrocities and sexual attacks on women in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, and Assam. I ask why only an accused was killed in an encounter in Assam?"

"The BJP is making such demands as it has suffered a string of defeats in elections and knows that it won’t be able to win in the future," the Chief Minister said. On the march to the state secretariat Nabanna on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said: “Police acted in restraint despite provocations of BJP-backed outfits who wanted protestors dead (in police action). Despite suffering physical injuries from the attacks on them, police personnel did not fall prey to provocations.” She said every attacker will be identified and action taken.

Demanding enactment of stricter anti-rape laws by the Centre, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said he will move a private member's Bill in the Lok Sabha. Banerjee further said that if the Centre "fails" to enact a stricter law that would ensure a quick trial and sentencing of those found guilty, he will lead protests in Delhi. "Our only demand is stricter anti-rape legislation," the TMC MP said, addressing a Trinamool Congress students' wing rally on its foundation day here. He said that the TMC will take to the streets if the Centre does not enact a new law to ensure a time-bound trial and sentencing of the accused found guilty of rape charges.

The TMC leader asked why the CBI has not been able to arrest Sandip Ghosh, who was the principal of RG Kar Medical College when the rape-murder took place on August 9. Ghosh has been called to the CBI office for questioning for 11 consecutive days till Tuesday. Banerjee claimed that the BJP workers had indulged in violence in the name of protests on Tuesday. He claimed that the people of Bengal rejected the BJP's bandh call, maintaining that the TMCP rally had a record turnout on Wednesday. "Do we have to learn about women's security from BJP?" he asked, stating that the Chief Minister of Manipur, in whose state several incidents of atrocities on women took place, should resign. He also pointed to alleged incidents of atrocities on women at Unnao and Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, stating, "Those who are seeking the resignation of Mamata Banerjee should ask for Yogi Adityanath's resignation."

Banerjee urged the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad leadership to ensure that in the next student body elections in the colleges in the state, 55 percent of seats be reserved for women candidates.