Amid the ongoing protests over the rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital that has put her government on a backfoot, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring in a stringent central law paving the way for a 15-day trial and “exemplary punishment” in rape cases.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the chief minister wrote that incidents of rape, coupled with murder, have increased in the country and therefore it was the bounden duty for everyone “to put an end to it so that women feel safe and secure” in the country.
Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, wrote the letter in the backdrop of countrywide protests over the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata earlier this month.
Noting the regular occurrence of rape cases throughout the country, Banerjee highlighted that, according to available data, nearly 90 rape cases occur daily. In many cases, rape victims were murdered.
“According to the available data, it is horrifying to see that almost 90 cases of rapes occur daily throughout the country… This shakes the confidence and conscience of the society and the nation,” she wrote.
“Such serious and sensitive issues need to be addressed in a comprehensive manner through stringent central legislation prescribing exemplary punishment against the persons involved in such dastardly crimes,” the chief minister suggested.
TMC MP and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee echoed the chief minister. In a post of his X handle, Abhishek, considered number two in the TMC, said a lasting solution to tackle rapes “still remains largely undiscussed”.
“Over the past 10 days, while the nation has been protesting against the #RGKarMedicalcollege incident and demanding justice, 900 RAPES have occurred across different parts of India – DURING THE VERY TIME WHEN PEOPLE WERE ON THE STREETS PROTESTING AGAINST THIS HORRIBLE CRIME,” he posted on X.