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'CM ignored sacred duty': Kiren Rijiju on Mamata government's anti-rape law | News from India

4 minutes reading time Last updated: 04 September 2024 | 12:46 IS

The political storm surrounding the rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital intensified when Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's handling of the situation. Rijiju's comments followed the unanimous passage of the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024 by the West Bengal Assembly on September 3.

Rijiju accused Banerjee of exploiting the doctor's tragic death for political purposes and claimed that the chief minister “failed to act” to prevent the crime.

He pointed out that Parliament had passed a stringent law in 2018 to combat heinous crimes like rape, which had provisions to set up Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC) to expedite trials and resolve pending cases under the Pocso Act. Despite repeated requests from the central government between 2019 and 2021, Rijiju claimed that the Mamata government had not given its approval to this centrally sponsored scheme under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018.

“This is an extremely serious matter. Please do not make this a political issue. Very strict laws are needed but strict measures are more important. When the letter was written, the media had already widely covered this news but the West Bengal government did nothing!” he said in a social media post accompanying the letter.



The undated letter highlighted that as per Supreme Court guidelines, districts with over 100 pending Pocso cases should have an exclusive ePocso court. It pointed out that 123 fast-track courts, including 20 ePocso courts, had been earmarked for West Bengal and that notices were sent on December 12, 2019, March 16, 2020, July 16, 2020 and February 19, 2021, asking the state to intervene.

Regretting the inaction of the West Bengal government, Rijiju said, “I am saddened that the Chief Minister of West Bengal has ignored her fundamental duty to provide speedy justice to women and children. The 2021 letter clearly illustrates this. In 2018, Parliament passed stringent laws to combat heinous crimes like rape. The state governments must act.”

“I am saddened that the Chief Minister of West Bengal has ignored her most sacred duty to provide speedy justice to women and children. This 2021 letter clearly shows this. In 2018, a strict law was passed by Parliament to deal with heinous crimes like rape… The state government must act!” he wrote in another post on X (formerly Twitter).

Banerjee defended her government during her address to the assembly and refuted the BJP's allegations of mismanagement of Nirbhaya funds. She highlighted that West Bengal is third in India with 88 fast-track courts, of which 52 are reserved for women. “We have 392,000 ongoing cases, of which 311,000 have been closed,” Banerjee said.

The controversy escalated when opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari criticised the state government's response as “eyewash” and demanded Banerjee's resignation. Adhikari also accused the government of trying to restrict women's night work through the new legislation and suggested that Banerjee should resign for failing to ensure a safe working environment for women.

These comments came after the chief minister, in a post on X, called the Aparajita Bill “historic” and essential in removing loopholes in the existing criminal law. She urged a concerted effort to address the issue of violence against women, saying, “A society that cannot ensure the safety of its women can never be ideal.”

Banerjee also expressed her emotional reaction to the passage of the law, stressing its symbolic significance on September 3, the day the United Nations established its Committee against Discrimination against Women in 1981.

“This is an exemplary and historic law. I am deeply moved and thank everyone involved. It will take some time, but I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family,” she said.

First published: 04 September 2024 | 12:46 IS

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