The Trinamool Congress organised demonstrations across Bengal on Saturday over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and stuck to its demand that the CBI complete the probe by Sunday.
Following chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s call for a statewide agitation demanding the death penalty for the perpetrator(s) of the crime, the TMC held demonstrations in all 341 blocks and each ward of 125 towns and cities, including Calcutta.
Trinamool leaders held marches in their respective areas, followed by street corner meetings where they asked the CBI to conclude its investigation by Sunday and ensure capital punishment for the guilty.
On Sunday, the party will organise an eight-hour-long dharna in each block in the state. The following day, TMC workers will tie rakhis to the hands of the common people as a symbol of unity.
“We did not organise any political activity in the six days after the horrific incident. We watched with utter dismay how the BJP, the Left and the Congress tried to make political gains out of a tragedy using social media. This sinister attempt has to be contested politically and we will build a movement against the attempt to malign Bengal,” a source close to Mamata told this newspaper.
Recognising the BJP’s strategy of reaching out to women on the emotive issue, the TMC top brass has been emphasising involving women in the agitation programmes of the party’s various wings like the INTTUC and the TMCP.
“If the CBI fails to complete its investigation by Sunday, the party will escalate its political activities to counter the BJP and other Opposition parties,” said a senior Trinamool leader in Calcutta.
Amid alleged attempts by the BJP to use social media to malign the government, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra on Saturday swung into action.
“We fully support the genuine grief and fear expressed on the streets, but it’s important to distinguish facts from false propaganda,” Mahua wrote on her social media handle.
Several other TMC leaders also highlighted how the state government proactively tried to reach out to the victim’s family — something that has never been done in the case of victims in BJP-ruled states — and tried to deliver on the reasonable demands of the protesting doctors.
While it is too early to gauge the impact of the TMC counter-offensive, sources in the ruling party acknowledged some of the challenges they had been facing since the tragic incident because of some steps by the government.
“There was no need to reappoint former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh at another medical college just four hours after his resignation. Communicating to the victim’s family that the death was a suicide was a blunder, as it eroded their trust in the state government,” said a senior party leader.
He added that the major setback for the party and the state government was the vandalism at the RG Kar hospital on August 15 when women across Bengal took to the streets to ‘Reclaim the Night’.
Some TMC leaders in districts shared the practical problems they were facing in organising protests in their areas, as many women, including party supporters, were reluctant to participate.
A section of TMC leaders went to the extent of saying that the RG Kar incident caused more embarrassment than the Sandeshkhali issue for the party.
“During the Sandeshkhali incident, the party’s leaders and IT cell were quick to counter every narrative. This time, the TMC’s IT cell has been notably inactive in countering the false narratives on social media. Office of Abhishek Banerjee was also found inactive in addressing this issue,” said a party insider.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on Saturday demanded that the party’s national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, take a more prominent role and address mistakes.
“Our leader @Mamataofficial is leading the fight to stop this political conspiracy by the opposition. We want our Senapati (general) @abhishekaitc to take the lead. We must correct some of our mistakes and take the right steps to dismantle all conspiracies,” Ghosh wrote on his social media handle.
A source said Abhishek and his office had not actively participated in political activities over the incident. A source close to Abhishek indicated that he was dissatisfied with several government decisions, including the reappointment of Sandip Ghosh, which was finally stalled by the high court.
“He (Abhishek) strongly believes that during such a crisis, the government must take an active role in reassuring the people about their safety. People want to hear from the government, not just the party, during such times. That’s why he immediately contacted the Kolkata Police commissioner on the night of the vandalism at the RG Kar hospital, demanding arrests without any political bias within 24 hours,” said a source.
