Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday denied allegations of a cover-up in the case of rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
In a video message posted on X, Moitra expressed deep anguish over the incident and said that her heart bleeds for the victim. “This could be me, you. It could be all of us, women,” she said. “The least we can expect is an atmosphere of safety at our workspace.”
Further, acknowledging the fear and insecurity triggered by the incident, the TMC MP pointed out that "there is room for propaganda in the fog of emotion”.
“The story that is going around that the state government and, most of all, the chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) and all of us who are elected representatives are indulging in some kind of systematic cover-up is absolutely wrong and incorrect,” Mahua Moitra said.
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{{/usCountry}}“The story that is going around that the state government and, most of all, the chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) and all of us who are elected representatives are indulging in some kind of systematic cover-up is absolutely wrong and incorrect,” Mahua Moitra said.
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{{/usCountry}}She added that Mamata Banerjee was in Jhargram-Medinipur when the incident happened and that the chief minister spoke to the doctor's family as soon as she was informed about it.
"The chief minister was in Jhargram-Medinipur when the incident happened. When she was informed about it she spoke to the family of the girl immediately. Upon her return to Kolkata, she went and visited them within 12 hours. The police arrested the prime suspect on the basis of CCTV evidence," Moitra said.
She said that the chief minister offered to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and pointed out that the investigation relies heavily on forensic evidence, which is currently with the Central Forensic Lab. “It is impossible to make arrests without forensic or CCTV evidence,” Moitra noted.
Mahua slams Opposition
In her video message, the Krishnanagar MP criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in Opposition in the state, for their remarks that TMC MPs are “gungi gudiyas” (mute dolls).
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"There is no cover-up. Mamata Banerjee is the only lady chief minister in India and has always stood for women's causes. To somehow put a political leaning to this and say that all of us are gungi gudiya (mute dolls) is some kind of political narrative that we had to face before and that we are going to fight back again," Moitra said.
Moitra's response comes after West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar had criticised the TMC, saying that none of their woman MP have spoken about the rape and murder of the doctor in Kolkata.
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He had also alleged that a particular TMC MP's nephew's name keeps coming up repeatedly in this case, according to ANI.
"In the doctor's team, many such topics have come up in their WhatsApp group, some screenshots of this have also reached us like drugs, racket, sex racket...One TMC MP's nephew's name keeps coming up repeatedly. I don't know what the truth is, but something seems off because despite so many women MPs from TMC, not a single one has spoken much after such a major incident. Two TMC MPs and three MLAs are alumni of the same medical college, yet they seem to have been silenced, indicating that something is amiss," Majumdar had said.