Park Street rape case all over again: Mamata’s justification of the rape of BJP worker’s wife is reprehensible

A BJP supporter’s wife was allegedly gang-raped by four men in Reyapara, Nandigram, on Monday, as per a report by the Times of India. The husband of the woman lodged an FIR against four accused men, claiming that they were workers of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The criminals are said to be on the run, even as the police remains tight-lipped about the incident. What is even more shocking is the fact that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in the aftermath of a storm being triggered by the heinous crime perpetrated reportedly by her party men, sought to proclaim that the BJP was bringing in goons from UP and Bihar to commit crimes against women in the state in order to defame West Bengal.

“They (BJP) have another plan to kill a woman from their own party with goons they have brought from Bihar and UP and put the blame on Bengal. This is their plan,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by news agency ANI while addressing a public rally.

Although the Chief Minister did not explicitly refer to the incident of rape per se, for her to make a baseless and unverified allegation in the aftermath of the Nandigram rape case is definitely quite telling of how she is trying to coverup for the alleged crimes of her party workers. Meanwhile, Times of India quoted Mamata Banerjee as saying, “I have information that they will kill their own daughter and blame Trinamool for it to instigate riots. Beware of it.”

Amit Shah, who led a massive roadshow for BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram on Tuesday, asked how can be women safe in Bengal if a crime against them takes place despite the presence of the CM in the area.“After reaching here (Nandigram), I got a sad piece of news. A woman was raped within a 5-km radius of the place where Mamata Banerjee is staying,” Shah said during his interaction with reporters at the BJP office in Nandigram.

Amit Shah added, “If a woman can be raped at a time when she [Mamata Banerjee] is present in the area, how can women be safe and secure?”This incident of rape at Nandigram came a day after Shova Majumdar, resident of the Nimta area of North 24 Parganas district, succumbed to injuries allegedly inflicted upon her by Trinamool Congress workers.

For there to be horrific crimes being allegedly perpetrated in Nandigram while Mamata Banerjee is herself camped therein is quite telling of the dilapidated law and order situation of West Bengal. Rest assured, the voters of the state will not give the same a miss while exercising their franchise.