DARJEELING,: The Darjeeling unit of Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) gheraoed Darjeeling Police Station today, demanding
resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the alleged rape
and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's R.G. Kar Medical College and
Hospital, an incident that has ignited widespread outrage across the country.
The
BJP maintained the Chief Minister should resign from her post has she had
failed to maintain law and order in West Bengal. “Mamata Banerjee is not fit to
be the Chief Minister of Bengal and this sentiment is shared by the people in
the Hills and across the State. This is the message we want to give with this
protest,” Kalyan Dewan, the BJP’s Darjeeling district president, said.
Dewan
added that similar protests would be organized in Kurseong and Kalimpong
tomorrow and day after.
The
BJP accused the Mamata-led West Bengal government of attempting to cover up the
incident. The party alleged that the State administration, in collusion with
the police, was trying to present the case as a suicide rather than a murder.
“It
is learnt that Mamata Banerjee had wished the principal of RG Kar Medical
College and Hospital principal on his birthday. The principal is linked with
this incident and an effort is being made to save him with an attempt having
also made to hide the incident and show it as a suicide by the government,”
alleged Dewan.
Dewan
accused the Mamata government of spreading anarchy in the State with the help
of the police.
Dewan
also criticized the West Bengal police, alleging that they had failed to
prevent the mobilization of around 7,000 goons to attack the hospital, further
demonstrating the State’s deteriorating law and order situation under the
TMC-led government.
“About
7,000 ‘gundas’ (goons) were mobilized to attack the hospital there and it is
shameful that the police did not know anything about it. It is due to the
TMC-led government that the police in West Bengal are infamous and they have
not been able to give justice and security to the people even if they want to.
In many places, the police have only become toys in the hands of TMC leaders
and acting as agents for their political benefits,” he added.
When
questioned about the absence of their alliance partners from the Hills,
including the Gorkha National Liberation Front, Dewan clarified that the
protest was part of a State-wide program initiated solely under the BJP's
banner. He hinted at the possibility of alliance partners joining the movement
in the future.
The
BJP's relations with its alliance partner GNLF have recently shown signs of
strain, particularly over the delay in fulfilling promises of a Permanent
Political Solution and granting tribal status to 11 communities in the region.
The GNLF has been vocal in expressing its displeasure with black flags being
put up in various parts of the Hills as a sign of protest against the BJP's
unfulfilled commitments.
