Doctor's rape-murder: BJP announces series of protest programmes

KOLKATA: Stepping up the attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday announced a series of programmes to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at a state-run hospital here over two weeks back.

The programmes will be held across the state between August 28 and September 4, said Majumdar, also a Union minister.

Demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation for her alleged failure to address the core issue of women's safety, Majumdar said the party will begin a sit-in at Esplanade area of Kolkata from August 28 while the party's women's wing will lock the gate of the state women’s commission.

"The state women's commission seems to have gone into a stupor," Majumdar told reporters on the sidelines of a demonstration by BJP at Shyambazar area of the city.

The BJP leader said that on August 29, party activists will gherao the district magistrate's office in every district at 12 noon while protests will be held outside the administrative offices in every block on September 2.

On September 4, a 'chakka jam' will be observed everywhere in the state stalling the movement of traffic for one hour, he said.

Majumdar claimed the ongoing CBI probe into the alleged financial irregularities in R G Kar Hospital showed the nexus between the state and the corrupt hospital lobby.

The chief minister is shielding "big fishes involved in the shady deals amounting to crores," he alleged.

“We demand the phone conversation between the CM and a powerful official of the hospital be brought under the ambit of investigation by CBI,” the union minister of state for education said.

Responding to BJP’s planned programmes, TMC state spokesperson Joy Prakash Majumdar said, "To divert the focus from the delay by CBI in tracking the perpetrators of the crime, the BJP is trying to foment trouble in the state and disrupt normal life."

"While the entire West Bengal is asking the CBI to ensure justice is done to the victim doctor, the BJP's only demand is resignation of the CM who has expressed solidarity with the victim's family and stood by them. She also reiterated her government and party's stance about zero tolerance to incidents like rape."

Another TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said the main demand of every citizen of the state centres around the punishment of all those involved in the rape and murder of the doctor, but the BJP is talking about so-called financial irregularities in the hospital.

"This shows BJP is not serious about the main issue of women's safety, the issue flagged by lakhs of women in Bengal. TMC shares the concern of the women of Bengal and demands justice for the R G Kar victim. The CBI should speed up the probe on this," Ghosh said.