When in doubt, hit the streets. Mamata Banerjee on Friday fell back on this mantra from her decades as an Opposition leader, leading a protest march to counter efforts by the BJP, CPM and others to corner her politically over the RG Kar atrocity.

After the 1.8km march between Moulali and the Dorina crossing, the chief minister demanded the CBI finish its investigation by Sunday to enable prompt delivery of justice to the junior doctor raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. She said the guilty should be hanged by Sunday, too.

Mamata, who is also the state’s home and health minister, absolved her administration of the charge of shoddy investigation before the CBI takeover, saying the probe had been spot-on.

As for the midnight vandalism at RG Kar during the Reclaim the Night vigil, Mamata blamed it on “outsiders” owing allegiance to an alleged “Bam-Ram” nexus, and accused the CPM and the BJP of politicising the tragedy.

“Tomorrow, in all blocks, organise marches to demand capital punishment for the guilty and expose the unholy Bam-Ram conspiracy…. The truth should come out,” she said.

“We want hanging (of the guilty). They (the CBI) need to complete their investigation by Sunday.”

The Trinamool Congress ensured that thousands of women, from Calcutta and its immediate neighbourhood, participated in the march.

Late on Friday night, Trinamul issued data from the latest National Crime Records Bureau that showed that the rate of cognisable crimes in Bengal was the lowest among major states and that Calcutta had the lowest crime rate among all metropolitan cities.

Mamata walked with several prominent women Trinamool leaders, such as Birbhum MP Satabdi Roy, Jadavpur MP Sayani Ghosh, Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra, Rajya Sabha member Dola Sen, finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, industry minister Shashi Panja, Rajarhat-Gopalpur MLA Aditi Munshi, Jhargram MP June Maliah, Hooghly MP Rachna Banerjee and Baranagar MLA Sayantika Banerjee.

After the march, she had them stand beside her on the rally dais throughout her hour-long speech.

She dwelt on the measures she had taken for the uplift and empowerment of women, implying her pro-women credentials should keep her above suspicion. Trinamool has in recent elections enjoyed overwhelming support from women voters.

“My heart was burning, and I couldn’t sleep for days (after the RG Kar crime). I simply couldn’t take it. I am in politics, yes; but before that, I am a human being,” Mamata said.

She demanded answers from the BJP on the sexual crimes against women in states where it is in power, referring to past instances from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Manipur as well as recent ones from Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, and Bihar.

“Whose government is there in all those places? If I decide to speak, so many things can be said. They garland, reward, release rapists,” the Trinamool chief said, alluding to the welcome accorded in Gujarat to the rapists of Bilkis Bano on their premature release last year.

“Do women have security in BJP-ruled states? In Bengal, if an incident happens, justice is delivered,” she added.

Mamata went on to attack governor C.V. Ananda Bose over his role in the alleged politicisation of the RG Kar tragedy.

She said she had nothing to say about the protests by the people, especially women, but would not tolerate incidents like the vandalism at RG Kar.

“Videos showed how they (vandals) carried (CPM youth wing) DYFI flags and BJP workers carried national flags. The CPM, the Congress and others have a nexus with the BJP here,” the chief minister alleged.

She rued the damage to the hospital’s infrastructure, providing a monetary estimate.

“By bringing in their politics, they wanted to set the state on fire. They damaged, destroyed the infrastructure. They don’t know how much it takes to set up a hospital and to buy things to give adequate treatment to the patients,” she said.

“When I asked how much loss was incurred, I was told it was more than Rs 50 crore, and might even be Rs 100 crore.”

She added: “Will the BJP and the CPM give the money? They are collecting money and funding anti-socials and hooligans. The hospital is not a place for hooliganism and vandalism but a place where treatment is given to patients and those critically ill.

“All my junior and senior doctors, sisters, staffers…. I request all of them to rejoin work and give services to the people. Poor people cannot always go to private hospitals.”

While pledging her support for the movement and the medicos’ demands, the chief minister said the CPM and the BJP were trying to defame Bengal by exploiting the situation.

She again brought up Bangladesh, accusing the BJP of trying to replicate the regime change in Bengal.

“They think that because something has happened in Bangladesh…. They are not speaking about punishing the culprits but demanding that Mamata Banerjee be punished. They have tried to kill me multiple times,” she said.

“Tell me where you want to kill me. I shall stand there alone, without any police protection. Let me see if you can finish me off. They think they would get a free zone (sic) if I am no more, but it is not so easy.”