Mamata Banerjee’s fight for justice for rape victims started in 1990 during the Bantala rape case. It reached a crescendo in 1993 when she went to the Writers Buildings to ask for justice.

January 7, 1993: it was a chilly afternoon in Calcutta. The city was still reeling from the communal tension post-Babri. The Jyoti Basu-led CPM government was deeply entrenched in power and the satraps of the Marxist party had spread their tentacles all over Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee, who was in her late thirties then, sat on a demonstration, right in front of chief minister Basu’s office. She was accompanied by a deaf-mute girl, from Nadia district. Allegedly, a CPM cadre had raped her.

Banerjee, who was adept at taking the fight to the streets during her stint as an Opposition leader, did not pay heed to requests by senior government officials and police officers and remained stationed near the chief minister’s chamber. It was around 4.30pm and Basu was about to reach his office.

What followed next wasn’t a pretty sight. Cops forcibly removed Banerjee and the victim, dragging them by their hair. Banerjee kept screaming until cops put her into the police van and took her to Lalbazar, the Calcutta police headquarters.

She had asked for justice.

Fast forward 31 years. That deaf-mute girl has since died. Banerjee is again on the road to demand justice for the RG Kar rape and murder victim and capital punishment for the culprit. The difference -- she is the chief minister now. She has been in power for the past 13 years.

Her protest rally on August 16 invited extreme ridicule and criticism. Protesters, cutting across age groups and professions, lambasted her rally. The state’s health minister is asking for justice from the state’s chief minister, who is also the home minister! This is what Banerjee’s protest rally turned into, per social media posts.

During her speech, she blamed the Opposition parties for the RG Kar violence on the midnight of August 14 and said vested interests circulated AI-enabled fake videos to muddy the waters.

What she is trying to do is pull back the narrative to a political pitch, her known arena.

The RG Kar protests to seek justice for the victim is out of syllabus for her. Doctors, football fans, lawyers, engineers, and women have organized protests. Those attending the protests range from senior citizens, Sector-V IT sector employees, morning walkers' associations, a hawker from Hatibagan, to even Tollywood celebrities.

In short, the protests are oiled by the common man. Doctors, football fans, or even the grocery shop owner beside our homes form a mixed group that cannot be marked or segregated by political camps. They may be your next door TMC, CPM, BJP supporters and even apolitical.

Banerjee has a rich history of tackling the BJP, CPM, and the Congress, both as an Opposition leader and as chief minister. However, the people protesting on the streets here are unknown individuals that we cannot classify.

As an Opposition leader, she used to assimilate herself with serious issues like Bantala rape case and give a voice to the public outcry. But now, as an administrator, it is a different ball game.

Till now, Banerjee hasn’t visited the RG Kar, she hasn’t spoken with any protesting groups to allay fears of miscarriage of justice. On the contrary, she has accused the CPM and the BJP for the violence at the RG Kar.

The Kolkata Police didn’t even talk to the principal of RG Kar, Sandip Ghosh, despite him being the figurative custodian of the premises. After the public outcry, Ghosh resigned and within hours he was named principal of another medical college in the city. He went on leave only after the Calcutta high court directed him.

Authorities have mishandled the public anger. They cancelled a Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal derby match due to fear of protests. The next day, cops called supporters to deter them from gathering near the stadium.

The Kolkata Police summoned around 57 people, including prominent doctors, CPM leaders, and even a TMC Rajya Sabha MP for allegedly spreading rumours. But anger is an emotion, often uncontrolled and doesn’t follow rationality.

The RG Kar protests are slowly taking the shape of a movement, with daily gatherings across the state. For the authorities, it has become like a Shoaib Akhtar bouncer coming at the speed of 150 km/hour at the WACA pitch. And Didi is no Ricky Ponting to hook it on the frontfoot. Such bouncers are out of syllabus for her.