A group of BJP MLAs staged a sit-in on the premises of the Bengal Assembly on Wednesday demanding Mamata Banerjee’s resignation as chief minister following the junior doctor’s rape and murder at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the city.
The leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, announced that he would “peacefully” lead BJP MLAs to the state secretariat, Raj Bhavan and the health department headquarters next week to demand the resignation of Mamata.
The chief minister handles the home and health portfolios.
“We, the BJP MLAs, have decided to visit Nabanna one day, Raj Bhavan another day, and Swasthya Bhavan on a different day, next week,” said the Nandigram MLA, claiming that the demonstrations would be “peaceful” and would involve a limited number of participants.
After Calcutta High Court transferred the probe into the junior doctor’s murder to the CBI, the BJP intensified its actions. This decision came following several PILs filed before the court, including one from Adhikari.
The central leadership of the BJP, right up to its national president J.P. Nadda, has been issuing statements of scathing criticism of Mamata and her government here, trying to ensure that the issue remains in the headlines nationally.
BJP leaders like Dilip Ghosh, Rahul Sinha, Abhijit Gangopadhyay, Jagannath Sarkar, Roopa Ganguly, Agnimitra Paul and Tapas Roy took part in marches seeking justice.
“Everybody should be ashamed of this state. Not only the women but the men are also not safe here. This government is shameless,” said Roopa Ganguly.
The BJP leaders have also decided to join the “Reclaim the Night” movement, where thousands of women from various backgrounds were scheduled to gather across Bengal at midnight on Wednesday to express their outrage.
“We simply cannot afford to miss the political opportunity in this,” said a state BJP insider.
“We have instructions from Delhi to leave no stone unturned. This could be far more potent as an issue than Sandeshkhali, which turned out to be ineffective,” he added.
