Following the recent unrest during the ‘Nabanna Abhiyaan’ rally in Kolkata, Union Minister and BJP President J.P. Nadda has strongly criticized West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Nadda accused Banerjee of exceeding all limits of cruelty and authoritarianism in the state.
On Tuesday, Nadda denounced the violence and oppression inflicted on the doctors, youth, and women of West Bengal by both the Mamata Banerjee administration and its police force, labeling their actions as not only reprehensible but also a disgrace to humanity.
He drew attention to the fact that Banerjee had kept silent over a recent brutal rape case in West Bengal in which dignity was infringed upon a woman and her parents were misled. He attacked the Chief Minister for not taking any action on such a 'heinous crime' and for taking extreme measures to protect the accused when some youth came forward to protest against the incident as part of the 'Nabanna Abhiyaan.'
He said, "The administration deployed more than 6,000 police officers, closed the Howrah Bridge, and also used lathi-charges and water cannons on the protesting students in Bengal's streets."
He accused Banerjee, a woman Chief Minister, of failure in protecting the women of Bengal.
BJP has called for a 12-hour bandh in Bengal starting from Wednesday at 6 am", Nadda said. He went on to say, "We are hopeful that people of Bengal will join the party in taking on the leadership of Banerjee and create an environment to overthrow her government.
Nadda also attacked the Kolkata police for unleashing their lust on the protesters protesting the rape and murder of the trainee doctor. He accused Banerjee of protection to rapists and criminals at the cost of safety to women.
His attack came on a day when reports arrived that police used lathi-charges, water cannons, and tear gas to disperse protesters who were throwing stones and bricks and trying to breach barricades leading to the state secretariat.
Nadda said the visuals of police brutality emanating from Kolkata have angered every bleeding heart that believes in democracy. He accused the government of treating criminals as its own, whereas protests over women's security are being crushed.
The father of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder victim came in solidarity with the students on protest and saluted their courage, asking them to continue with their demands for justice.
The protest march, termed the 'Nabanna Abhiyaan', was held by the 'Paschim Banga Chatra Samaj' along with other groups, protesting the recent rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. While the rally started at College Square in Kolkata, the security has been beefed up around the West Bengal state secretariat, protesters gathered in Santragachi of Howrah.
The Trinamool Congress, however, assailed the choice of words by the BJP to characterize the protest as 'peaceful' and termed the rally's tactics, including stone pelting and violent confrontations with police, as a deliberate attempt to disrupt state order. They termed the 'Nabanna Abhiyaan' a "conspiracy" and a "FATAL ATTACK on Bengal."
This unrest comes after the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, outraging countrymen and several protests across the nation seeking justice.
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