In the midst of ongoing protests over the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the public to focus on the upcoming Durga Puja celebrations.
Speaking at an administrative review meeting at the state secretariat, Nabanna, Banerjee addressed the protests that have gripped the state for over a month, stressing the need for calm and a return to normalcy. She revealed that Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal had offered to resign multiple times during the past week, but was persuaded to remain in his position due to the importance of maintaining order during the upcoming Durga Puja festivities.
“If you stay on the roads every night, it affects the elderly people’s sleep due to noise pollution. We haven’t acted on state pollution control board norms,” Banerjee said, urging protesters to allow the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct its probe without disruption. “I request you to return to festivities and let the investigation be completed at the earliest.”
Banerjee’s remarks have been met with strong criticism from the victim’s family, who expressed outrage at the call for celebrations. “What about our festivities when we have lost our daughter? Let her return our daughter. Would she have said the same had this happened in her family?” asked the victim’s family in response to the Chief Minister’s comments.
The victim’s mother, devastated by the loss of her daughter, criticized Banerjee’s plea for calm. “Durga Puja was celebrated in my house too. My daughter used to do it at home. But now darkness has engulfed our lives. How can I tell people to celebrate the festival during this time?” she said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also condemned Banerjee’s comments, with the party’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya accusing the Chief Minister of insensitivity. In a post on social media platform X, Malviya wrote, “While crores of residents of West Bengal are mourning… an insensitive Mamata Banerjee asks the people to stop these protests and celebrate instead. Celebrate what? The gruesome rape and murder of a junior doctor, which the Kolkata Police deliberately mishandled?”
Malviya further alleged that several Durga Puja organizers have refused financial assistance from the state government and are resisting pressure from the West Bengal Police to reveal their themes.
The victim’s family has also accused Banerjee of attempting to stifle the movement for justice. “Mamata is trying to strangle the movement just like how my daughter was strangled,” the victim’s mother told reporters. “She is lying, we were offered money by her. But I told her I would take that money the day my daughter gets justice.”
As tensions remain high in Kolkata, Banerjee’s appeal for calm and celebration has only fueled further protests, with citizens continuing to demand justice for the slain doctor.
