Kolkata: Former bureaucrat Jawhar Sircar resigned as Trinamul Congress Rajya Sabha MP on Sunday in protest of the West Bengal government’s pathetic response to the brutal rape and murder of an-duty female doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital a month ago. He also offered to quit politics.
Mr Sircar, who became TMC Rajya Sabha MP in August of 2021, sent his resignation to his party supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee. He will also submit his resignation to Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar soon.
His step, which has left his party stunned, came close on the heels of another TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy's outburst against Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal’s poor role in the probe.Referring to the ongoing protest over the heinous crime in his letter to Ms Banerjee, Mr Sircar wrote, “I just cannot accept some things, like corrupt officers (or doctors) getting prime and top postings. No. Believe me, the present spontaneous outpouring of public anger is against this unchecked overbearing attitude of the favoured few and the corrupt. In all my years, I have not seen such angst and total no-confidence against the government, even when it says something correct or factual.”
He pointed out, “I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital, and was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened and whatever punitive steps that government is taking now are too little and quite late. I think normalcy may have been restored in this state much earlier, if the caucus of the corrupt doctors was smashed and those guilty of taking improper administrative actions punished immediately after the scandalous incident happened.”Mr Sircar then added, “It is my belief that the mainstream of the agitation is non-political and a spontaneous one and it is not correct to take a confrontational stand, by labelling it political. Of course, the opposition parties are trying to fish in troubled waters, but the mass of the youth and the common people who are out agitating on the streets every second day do not encourage them. They want no politics: they want justice and punishment. Let us analyse frankly and realise that the movement is as much for Abhaya as it is against the state government and the party. This calls for course correction immediately or else communal forces will capture this state.”
According to him, “I had to say all this in writing as I have not had the opportunity to speak privately with you in several months. I express my gratitude again for the opportunity you gave me to raise Bengal's issues in parliament for 3 years, but I do not wish to continue as MP at all. My commitment to fight corruption, communalism and authoritarianism in the Centre and the States is simply non-negotiable. I shall go to Delhi soon and offer my resignation to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and will also disassociate myself totally from politics. Please do something to save the state…”The retired IAS officer further underlined that he was “quite shocked” to see in the media “the open evidence of corruption” that the former state education minister (Partha Chatterjee) had indulged in. He even recalled how he was heckled by “senior leaders” of TMC for his public statement that “corruption must be tackled by the party and government.”
“Though I carried on my task in parliament with fervour, I became increasingly disillusioned as the state government seemed quite unconcerned about corruption and the increasing strong-arm tactics of a section of leaders. But I get amazed to see that several elected panchayat and municipal leaders have acquired big properties and move around in expensive vehicles. This hurts not only me, but the people of West Bengal.”
