Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent appeal for people to “return to Pujo” has triggered widespread backlash.
“It has been a month (since the August 9 incident). I request you return to Pujo, return to the festivities and ask the CBI to ensure justice as soon as possible,” Mamata told a presser moments after the SC heard the rape and murder case.
Referring to the protests demanding justice for the 31-year-old doctor, who was rape and murder at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, she said, “If you are out protesting on the roads every night, a lot of people get disturbed. Several areas have elderly people. If you use microphones, they have trouble sleeping. There are pollution control norms that you cannot use microphones after 10 pm. We have overlooked all this. It has been a month now.”
The Trinamool Congress chief further claimed that she never offered money to the deceased doctor’s family. “Money can never compensate for a life and if the parents wanted to do something in memory of their daughter, they could reach out to her,” she added.
Her statements and claims have irked not only the victim’s family and opposition parties but also the protesters who have been walking the streets of Kolkata demanding justice for the victim, with many accusing the CM of being insensitive toward the ongoing grief and public outrage.
‘Durga Pujo will never be celebrated in my house’
Slamming her statement as ‘inhuman’, the victim’s mother asked, “What about our festivities when we have lost our daughter? Let her return our daughter. Would she have said the same had this happened in her family?”
“Durga Puja was celebrated in my house too. My daughter used to do it at home. But, now darkness has engulfed our lives, we will not celebrate Durga Puja or any other festival for years to come. How can I ask people to return to festival,” PTI quoting her as saying.
The BJP and the CPM have also criticised the Chief Minister for the remarks. “(Do you think) they will stand, sit, celebrate and stop protests when you ask them to? The Pujo fortnight has not started yet, the demon is yet to be slayed. Be patient, the Mother’s power has awakened, it will cleanse Bengal,” BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in Bengal Assembly, posted on X while asking Mamata if she considered people puppets.
He also shared a collage of videos, showing what Mamata had said earlier, and what she claimed on September 9.
বাঙালির দুর্ভাগ্য আপনার মতো একজন মিথ্যাবাদী, মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর পদে আসীন রয়েছেন। আর কতো মিথ্যে কথা বলবেন আপনি, এবার থামুন :- pic.twitter.com/XqnAkW3WNf
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) September 9, 2024
“Her (Banerjee) only hope is that the mass protests will fizzle out and people will shift to a celebratory mood, overlooking safety and security concerns,” said senior CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty.
‘Why would I lie in my daughter’s name?’
The victim’s mother also rejected Mamata’s ‘money not offered claim. “The chief minister is lying. My daughter is not going to return. Would I lie in her name? She told us that we would receive money and suggested that we create something in our daughter’s memory. I responded that I would collect the money once my daughter gets justice,” news agency ANI quoted the victim’s mother as saying.
The doctor’s cousin also asserted that the CM herself offered the money to the family. They claimed that the Mamata had offered money to them during her visit to their home at Panihati in North 24 Parganas on August 12.
The victim’s family had earlier accused the state police of attempts to cover up the case.
