Let off with light dose, says Bengal BJP chief after party workers thrash woman

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh on Monday courted controversy for saying that a woman, who was allegedly beaten up by party supporters, was “let off with a light dose”.

On Monday, Ghosh visited Basirhat, over 70 km from away Kolkata, to address a membership review meeting.

A woman, in her late twenties, said she wanted to speak with Ghosh but was not allowed to enter. Speaking with mediapersons, the woman said when Ghosh left the meeting and was getting into his vehicle, she tried to hand him a letter, but BJP supporters dragged her away and thrashed her.

“I was trying to hand over a letter to Dilip Ghosh when I was attacked,” she said.

Ghosh, who was present at the time the woman was beaten up, told mediapersons, “She came to create trouble. She belongs to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and is not associated with the BJP. I don’t have an idea how much she was thrashed. But she should have been soundly beaten up. She was let off with a light dose.”

BJP district leaders said the woman earlier belonged to their party but had joined the TMC recently.

Reacting to his statement, state food minister and TMC leader Jyoti Priya Mallick said, “How can anyone say this? One should remember, a husband cannot hit his wife, a father cannot hit his daughter and a teacher cannot beat students.”

“I am sorry to say that this perhaps reflects the culture of BJP. How can an MP say such things? ...If he did not want to take her letter, he could have refused it. His security men could have handed her over to the police,” said Congress legislator Abdul Mannan.

Left MLA Sujan Chakraborty said, “Is someone condones such treatment to a woman, it reflects a criminal mindset. BJP leaders are used to showing red eyes to the people.”