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

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.”