The Bharatiya Janata Party and other Opposition parties on Friday intensified their demands for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation after the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday night following protests against the rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee.
In an attempt to mount pressure on the State Government on the midnight violence — which was widely condemned by people from various sections of the society, BJP state president and Central Minister Sukanta Majumdar urged the public to support the protest by closing shops and halting all activities from 2pm to 4pm on Friday.
“We urge all people to stop all their activities from 2pm to 4pm to protest against the hooliganism that happened at RG Kar on Wednesday night. The activity of the police was also not beyond question. I hope the people of Bengal will come forward to seek justice for the doctor who was brutally killed and murdered,” Majumdar said before heading off to a protest at the gates of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Sukanta Majumdar was detained by police on Friday during his participation in the protest. The police took the BJP leader and other protesters into custody.
Additionally, the BJP has planned a continuous sit-in demonstration near RG Kar Hospital, with State-level leaders, including Majumdar, Suvendu Adhikari and Dilip Ghosh, in attendance.
The BJP’s Mahila Morcha was planning to hold a candlelight and torch march from Hazra More to the Chief Minister’s residence in Kalighat.
The SUCI also gave a call for a 12-hour bandh in the State and blocked traffic at different points in the city, leading the police to resort to arrests and mild lathi charges.
“A police force that cannot protect its citizens or a crime scene is a disgrace. The Police Minister and CM must step down immediately. Her incompetence is endangering lives,” Adhikari said, adding that he had requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to provide security by the Central agencies at RG Kar and all the State-run hospitals in the state.
Majumdar also wrote to Amit Shah demanding a thorough investigation into the matter. “I respectfully urge you to order for thorough investigation to identify the perpetrators behind the vandalism and ensure that they are brought to justice. I also request you to ensure that the rights of peaceful protestors are upheld while taking stringent action against those who seek to undermine legitimate movements through violence and disruption and issue a clear public statement condemning the violence and reassuring the citizens of Kolkata and West Bengal,” Majumdar wrote.
After the 31-year-old junior doctor was raped and murdered on Friday morning, protests have been sweeping the State. The CPM and the Congress also demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister, who holds the Health and Home portfolios.
The Opposition parties intensified their protest after Calcutta police commissioner Vineet Goyal blamed the media for the violence at the hospital on the night of April 14.
The police chief refused to accept the fact that members of the media had been attacked badly; their cameras and vehicles smashed.
“This is pre-planned. How did so many people enter the premises of the hospital when there were huge police postings? They were trying to tamper with evidence. The Chief Minister should immediately resign,” CPM state secretary Md Selim said.
“What happened at RG Kar was beyond imagination. The doctors are traumatised, and nurses are suffering from a lack of security. When the police are supposed to give them protection, they are hiding to save their lives. There is no administration in the State. The
Chief Minister should take the responsibility,” Congress leader Deepa Dasmunsi said.
The West Bengal Government cancelled leaves of its employees on Friday to keep its offices functional during a 12-hour general strike called by SUCI to protest against the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday night.
In its order issued on Thursday, the Finance Department has made it clear that the employees who would not attend office on Friday would face a deduction of a day’s salary. They would also face a one-day deduction from their service life.
In a separate order issued by the Home Department, the district authorities were asked to ensure that all services — train, bus and other modes of transportation — were run smoothly. All business institutes and markets should also function normally, it ordered.