Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Jawhar Sircar announced his resignation from the Rajya Sabha on Sunday, citing dissatisfaction with the handling of the Kolkata doctor’s rape and murder case. In a letter addressed to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Sircar expressed his disappointment with the state government’s response and urged Banerjee to “save the state.”
Sircar revealed that he plans to travel to Delhi to submit his resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
In his letter, Sircar voiced his frustration over the lack of intervention by Mamata Banerjee in her “old Mamata style” during the ongoing protests by junior doctors. “I thought you would interfere in the ongoing movement in the old Mamata style, but I did not see it,” he wrote.
Sircar criticized the government’s approach towards the agitating doctors, accusing it of favoring a select few while ignoring corruption. He noted that the public was losing confidence in the administration and expressed dismay at the lack of swift punitive action against those responsible for administrative failures.
“I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital and was hoping for your direct intervention. It has not happened, and whatever punitive steps the government is taking now are too little and quite late,” Sircar’s letter read.
He emphasized that had the government acted sooner and punished those responsible for administrative mismanagement, normalcy in the state could have been restored earlier. Sircar also announced that after his resignation, he would “disassociate myself totally from politics.”
Background of the Case
On August 9, a trainee doctor was found raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The police arrested Sanjay Roy in connection with the crime. However, the actions of the hospital administration and the Kolkata police came under scrutiny for alleged mishandling of the case.
It was reported that the former principal of the hospital, Dr. Sandip Ghosh, attempted to pass off the murder as a suicide. The victim’s family was kept waiting for over three hours before they were allowed to see their daughter’s body, and the murder FIR was filed 14 hours after the discovery of the body.
Last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Dr. Ghosh over alleged financial irregularities at the hospital. Protests led by doctors and civilians have continued for weeks, demanding justice and action.
TMC’s Response to Sircar’s Resignation
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh addressed Sircar’s decision, stating that the administration had been misunderstood by the protesters. “At present, we are working like soldiers under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. This does not mean I criticize the personal principle of Jawhar Sircar. It is his decision; he can take it. We condemn this (RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder) incident. People are angry and misunderstand the administration,” Ghosh said.
He emphasized that the party would work to explain the situation to the public and that Sircar’s decision would be considered by the party’s leadership.
BJP Demands Mamata Banerjee’s Resignation
Reacting to Sircar’s resignation, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla demanded that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee step down. “If someone should resign, it should be West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. The TMC government and Mamata Banerjee institutionalized corruption, and in his letter, Sircar wrote that whenever he raised the issue of corruption, he was silenced. Mamata Banerjee tried to destroy the evidence and save the accused,” Poonawalla said.
The case continues to spark widespread outrage, with protests and calls for justice growing across the state.