Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 26: As the rape and murder of a young trainee postgraduate doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has after a fortnight has become more of a ground for political slugfest between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, the opposition party in a bid to keep the pot boiling has announced fresh agitational programmes against the sordid incident and the ruling party called its proposed rally on Tuesday “illegal and an attempt to incite widespread unrest in Kolkata.”
The patients continued to suffer as the resident doctors, bolstered by the political support, continue to stay away from work demanding justice for the victim ignoring the appeal from the Supreme Court and the central and the state governments. Two weeks after the incident, out-patient departments (OPDs) and in-patient departments (IPDs) see significant decline in patient footfall in state run health facilities.
On a regular Friday OPD ticket counters usually remains thronged with patients in Medical College (Kolkata) trying to get their tokens and get treatment for their ailments. However, the scene on August 23, two Fridays after the murder of post graduate trainee doctor at R.G. Kar MCH was quite different.
Patients were sparse at the ticket counters, there were no long queues and services remained affected. The fewer patients at government hospitals across the State is a direct result of junior doctors going on strike. There was no improvement in the situation even on Monday.
Stepping up the attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress, the BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar on Monday announced a series of programmes to protest RG Kar incident and said the agitational programmes would be held across the state between August 28 and September 4,
Demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation for her alleged failure to address the issue of women’s safety, Mr Majumdar, also a Union minister, said the party would begin a sit-in in Esplanade area of Kolkata from August 28 while the party’s women’s wing would lock the gates of the state women’s commission office.
“The state women’s commission seems to have gone into a stupor,” Majumdar told reporters on the sidelines of a demonstration by BJP in Shyambazar area of the city. The BJP leader said on August 29, party activists will gherao the district magistrate’s office in every district at 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. The union minister claimed the CBI investigation into the incident “clearly showed 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.
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,” he added.
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 the BJP is not serious about the main issue of women’s safety, the issue flagged by lakhs of women of West Bengal. TMC shares the concern of the women of the state and demands justice for the victim. The CBI should speed up the probe on this,” Mr Ghosh said.
The TMC leaders also released two videos purported to be incorporating discussions between some BJP leaders on the proposed rally to “Nabanna,” the state government secretariat on Tuesday advocating for violence during the rally to ensure its success. The party said these videos were acquired by means of a “sting operation” and alleged that right-wing groups and some leftists, including the CPI(M), have planned a massive conspiracy to make the event bloody and spread violence.
The BJP, meanwhile, responded to the allegations saying the TMC was using the police to spread panic before the rally while the chief minister was making an attempt to suppress a people’s movement, which has gained momentum under “tremendous pressure.” Senior leader Amit Malviya said the police must take steps to ensure there are no disruptions in the protest march as it was their responsibility to uphold law and order.
In the videos two people can be heard saying: “Bullets will fly, rubber bullets will be fired… If there are no casualties, you can’t politicise the issue… if there are no casualties, it’ll all be futile. But we are confident there’ll be casualties that day… on the 27th of August. Otherwise it’s doomed…”
The TMC accused the BJP of planning the conspiracy, saying the party has resorted to the politics of “dead bodies under the camouflage of justice”. The videos were posted on the ruling party’s official handle on X, saying: “Dead bodies must fall” for “political momentum.” – SHOCKING videos have emerged indicating a sinister conspiracy behind the Nabanna Abhiyan tomorrow! BJP has resorted to the politics of DEAD BODIES under the camouflage of JUSTICE! Instead of asking CBI to expedite the probe, this is what the BJP is busy doing. Proof,” it said.
At the press conference, Mr Kunal Ghosh questioned the rationale behind the rally’s decision to march to Nabanna, which is the state secretariat, instead of the CBI office where the probe is underway. He warned of potential disruptions, including outsiders being brought in and people possibly disguising themselves in police uniforms to provoke violence and blame police.
“What these people – mostly right-wing forces like RSS and ABVP as well as some leftists backed by CPI(M) – really want is clear from these videos. They want deaths. We have information that people from outside the state are also being brought to foment unrest during the rally. We have also learnt some people in the rally will be wearing police uniforms and fire on people to shift the blame on the police,” he said.
Senior minister Chandrima Bhattacharya alleged that the rally, which has been organised by a student outfit called Chhatra Samaj, is part of a plan by some elements to disrupt peace and stability in the state. She dismissed the call for Banerjee’s resignation as politically motivated.
The state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said fear was being created in the minds of students, who want to carry out a peaceful protest, because the CM and her nephew (TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee) are scared. “We have not initiated this movement but we support this movement as it is demanding justice and also demanding Mamata Banerjee’s resignation. Police are now trying to create fear,” he added.
The CPI(M) also joined the BJP in criticising the TMC, saying their claims were an expression of fear and desperation. Party leader Satarup Basu accused the TMC of panicking due to rising spontaneous protests and stressed that the CPI(M) supports peaceful, democratic protests against the ruling party’s alleged misrule.
“We have repeatedly said BJP and right-wing organisations are behind the August 27 rally and none of the Left organisations will participate,” Basu said. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) previously clarified that it did not initiate the call for the march but affirmed its support for democratic movements.
