'Do you have any shame?' BJP lashes out at Mamata for Manipur-type assault on woman in West Bengal
According to the woman, Trinamool workers molested and physically assaulted her. She claimed that they stripped her naked and paraded her throughout the entire village on the day the Panchayat Elections were happening in West Bengal
FollowEven as the national outrage continues to simmer over the barbaric treatment meted out to two Manipuri women who were stripped and paraded naked by a mob, reports of a similar incident that happened in West Bengal have come to the fore. The issue has also taken a political twist with the Bharatiya Janata Party questioning West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her 'selective outrage'.
The case revolves around a complaint filed by a female candidate after the recently-concluded gram panchayat election, wherein she accused Trinamool Congress workers of molesting and physically assaulting her. The incident allegedly occurred on July 8, the day of the panchayat elections in the Panchla area of Howrah district. She reported inappropriate and unwelcome advances during the incident.
According to the woman's account, she claimed that the Trinamool workers stripped her naked and paraded her throughout the entire village. In response to the grave incident, an FIR has been registered at the Panchla police station.
In her complaint, the woman stated that she was attacked by approximately 40 Trinamool miscreants. They subjected her to physical blows with a stick, resulting in injuries to her chest and head, and forcibly expelled her from the polling station. The FIR contains the names of several individuals, including Trinamool candidate Hemant Roy, Noor Alam, Alfi SK, Ranbir Panja Sanju, and Sukmal Panja.
Reacting to the issue, BJP leaders came down heavily on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had on Thursday said that she was 'heartbroken and outraged to witness the horrific video from Manipur showing the brutal treatment of two women by a frenzied mob'. The Trinamool Congress supremo termed it as an act of barbarism that was beyond comprehension and humanity.
BJP leader Amit Malviya said: "Do you have any shame at all Mamata Banerjee? On 8th Jul 2023, the day of the Panchayat poll, a Gram Sabha candidate, a woman, was beaten, stripped naked and paraded in Howrah’s Panchla, a stone's throw away from Nabanno, where you sit. Your police weren’t even taking FIR till the BJP forced it down."
"Hemanta Roy, the TMC candidate from the same Gram Sabha, along with other criminals like Alfi Sk, Sukamal Panja, Ranabir Panja, Sanju Das, Noor Alam and 40-50 other men, hit her on chest, tore her saree and pulled off her inner wear, before parading her naked. You, as Home Minister of West Bengal, were expected to uphold law and order, instead you chose to prevaricate… Trust me, the world is a better place without your broken heart, outrage and fake concern for justice. You are a failed Chief Minister. Please focus on Bengal," he added.
Countering the BJP IT Cell chief, Trinamool Congress leader Sandipan Mitra asked the party to 'prove that something like that had happened in West Bengal on 8 July 2023'.
