New Delhi: The BJP on Monday launched a fresh attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for asking female boarders not to go out at night following the alleged gangrape of a medical student, accusing her of indulging in “victim shaming” and demanding justice for the survivor.
In the wake of the alleged gangrape of a student studying at a private medical college in Durgapur on Friday night, Banerjee said female boarders, especially those from outside the state, should follow hostel rules and not venture out late at night.
As her remarks drew criticism from the opposition, Banerjee later claimed that the comments were taken out of context.
Slamming the chief minister, BJP MP and national spokesperson Bansuri Swaraj said, “It’s unfortunate that women are unsafe in West Bengal. But when a woman chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, insensitively indulges in victim shaming and victim blaming of the rape survivor, then it becomes painful and shameful for the entire society
“You (Mamata Banerjee) raise the slogan of ‘maa, maati and manush’. Due to your insensitivity, misgovernance and conservative mindset, maa (mother) is embarrassed, maati (land) is soaked in blood and manush (people) are badly off,” Swaraj told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here.
The BJP leader asked Banerjee to stop justifying the incident. “Provide justice to the victim,” she demanded.
The BJP alleged that this is not the first time that Banerjee has tried to justify rape.
Citing the remarks Banerjee made after incidents of rape in the state in the past, Swaraj alleged that the ruling TMC in West Bengal has become synonymous with “conservative mindset”.
“After the Park Street rape case in 2012, Mamata Banerjee blamed the victim and called it a staged incident, implying that the victim had fabricated the incident. On the rape of a 14-year-old minor in Hanskhali 2022, she said it was a love affair gone wrong, trivialising the case,” the BJP leader said.
