Bengal Govt Will Amend Existing Laws to Ensure Death Penalty to Rapists: Mamata
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Wednesday that her government would bring an anti-rape bill in the Assembly soon to seek death penalty of the accused.
The Trinamul Congress supremo also threatened an all-women sit-in demonstration outside the Raj Bhavan if governor CV Ananda Bose would not sign and forward it to President Draupadi Murmu for approval.
Ms Banerjee told the foundation day rally of her party's student wing, “Next week, we will convene an Assembly session after requesting the Speaker. We will pass a bill to ensure capital punishment for rapists.”
She said, “We will send this bill to the Governor. I know he would not accept it. If he doesn’t sign, we will sit outside Raj Bhavan. It will be an all-women stir. This bill must be passed and he cannot evade accountability this time.”
In the morning, the TMC chief in a post on X-handle dedicated her party unit's occasion in memory of the young doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered on duty at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
She however expressed her dissatisfaction with the progress in the ongoing CBI probe in the case. “Sixteen days have passed since the CBI took over the probe. Where is justice?” the CM asked.
Lashing out at the opposition for fueling the continuous protests over the rape and murder case and Tuesday's bandh in state, Ms Banerjee alleged, "Some people think this is Bangladesh. Please remember, I love Bangladesh.”
She added, “They speak like us and their culture is the same as ours but Bangladesh is a separate nation and India is a separate nation.” The TMC boss then trained guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Mr. Modi, you're using your party to ignite fire here. If you burn Bengal, Assam, North-East, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Delhi too shall burn! We will topple your chair. We know how to cut off funding," she said.
Further, Ms Banerjee called for change of her party’s famous poll winning slogan, “Bodla Noy Bodal Chai (Want Change not Revenge)” of 2011. She pointed out that she had earlier set the slogan but left it on her party workers to decide what to do. “At least you can hiss against those who are spreading canards against us,” she said.
