Trinamool Congress | SabrangIndia

‘Love Affair’ to ‘Outsider Conspiracy’: TMC’s Controversial Takes on Sexual Harassment Allegations

sabrang — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 12:56:39 +0000

In the wake of escalating unrest at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas, chief minister Mamata Banerjee addressed the state assembly on February 15, vehemently accusing the outsiders, instigated by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, for the turmoil.

“This (violence) is not new. There is a branch of RSS in Sandeshkhali. Bringing outsiders is causing unrest. We are taking action; the police are going door to door to provide assistance,” Banerjee declared during her address.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, including Kunal Ghosh and Saokat Molla, responded to the allegations with scepticism. Ghosh called for victims to “provide proof” of the mass rape incidents that reportedly occurred, leading to the unrest. He went into the extent of asking women to raise hands to show whether they were raped or not in a televised talkshow.

Molla, meanwhile, dismissed the credibility of the women protesting against TMC’s Shahjahan Sheikh, alleging that they were all liars who “smoked cigarettes.”

TMC leader Narayan Goswami made suggestive comments, hinting that the women making harassment allegations did not conform to the purported and expected physical characteristics of local tribal women.

Goswami said, “The Adivasi women from Sandeshkhali can be identified by their physique and complexion. However, the women alleging harassment in front of the camera are fair. How can we know that they are local Adivasis?”

Another TMC spokesperson Jui Biswas demanded video evidence during a TV debate on the Sandeshkhali issue. “In Hathras, it was proven that rape has happened. Show me footage from West Bengal which shows that rape has happened,” asked Biswas, a councilor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation and close relative of influential state cabinet minister Arup Biswas during the debate.

This is not the first time Trinamool Congress leaders have made controversial statements regarding sexual assault cases. They rather follow a pattern often set by the chief minister herself.

Past instances

In 2022, the Trinamool supremo had raised doubts about the gangrape-murder of a 14-year-old girl in Nadia district. The victim, invited to a birthday party by the son of a Trinamool Congress leader in Hanshkhali was allegedly gang-raped by the youth and his friends.

She later died due to excessive bleeding, and family members were reportedly prevented from seeking medical help. Following her death local Trinamool workers attacked the family, pointing a gun and forcefully cremated her.

The family later used the child helpline to raise the complaint. Banerjee, in the presence of the then West Bengal police chief Manoj Malaviya, suggested the girl had an affair with the accused, leading to sharp criticism from opposition parties. The Calcutta High Court subsequently transferred the case to the CBI.

In 2013, a 20-year-old college student was abducted, gang-raped, and murdered in Kamduni village, located 16 km from Barasat in the North 24 Parganas district.

Ten days after the incident, chief minister Banerjee visited the victim’s family in Kamduni and encountered a group of protesting women whom she accused of being “CPM supporters engaged in nasty politics”. Last year, the high court reduced the death sentences of two convicts in this case to life terms and acquitted a third death-row convict.

The court cited the state’s failure to prove conspiracy and the lack of evidence to challenge the possibility of reformation and rehabilitation. The West Bengal government and the girl’s family have not moved the Supreme Court challenging the order.

In February 2012, Banerjee dismissed the Park Street rape case as a “sajano golpo (fabricated story)”, alleging that it was orchestrated by the media to tarnish the image of the police and state government.

Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar even suggested that the victim, Suzette Jordan, was a “sex worker” and that the rape resulted from a dispute with a client. The police investigation, led by IPS Damayanti Sen, revealed that the woman had been raped by a gang of four individuals.

The officer was soon shifted from her post as joint commissioner of Kolkata Police (Crime) to the insignificant post of DIG (Training) at Barrackpore Police Training College and then again to DIG, (Darjeeling Range), within four months.

In 2022, the Calcutta high court ordered Sen to supervise four rape incidents in Matia, Ingrejbazar, Deganga and Banshdroni.

Three weeks later, Banerjee labelled another alleged rape case on a train as a “conspiracy by the CPI(M)” to tarnish her government’s reputation. She identified the victim as the wife of a CPI(M) worker, despite her husband’s death in 2002.

All five accused were eventually found guilty of armed robbery but not guilty in the gang rape case. However, the court criticised the public prosecutor for lack of evidence, particularly relevant medical reports supporting the rape case.

In 2014, the teenage daughter of a farmer, known to be a CPI(M) supporter, was found murdered in Dhupguri after she opposed the ruling of a ‘kangaroo court’ allegedly called by local Trinamool Congress leaders. Her disrobed body showed signs of sexual assault. The incident sparked public outrage in the district, leading to the arrest of eight Trinamool Congress supporters, who were soon released on bail.

There were allegations that the police shielded the accused, and a key witness was later found dead under suspicious circumstances. A key officer handling the probe, James Kujur, then additional SP of Jalpaiguri district, was later elected as the MLA of Kumargram in the neighbouring Alipurduar district and made a state cabinet minister in charge of the tribal development department in 2016.

Last year, a tribal unemployed woman living in a tea-basti near Bagdogra in North Bengal was subject to brutal sexual torture. Despite her FIR and medical repot confirming her ordeal, the primary accused, enjoying political influence, was not apprehended by the police. While the other four accused are in custody, the victim is repeatedly being intimidated with threats and harassments.

Translated from the Bengali original by Aparna Bhattacharya.

This article was first published on The Wire

The post ‘Love Affair’ to ‘Outsider Conspiracy’: TMC’s Controversial Takes on Sexual Harassment Allegations appeared first on SabrangIndia.

CBI arrests TMC leaders in Narada sting case

Mon, 17 May 2021 11:13:42 +0000

Image Courtesy: indiatoday.in

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and a former mayor in connection with a Narada sting operation. The case refers to a sting operation where all four were caught accepting bribes on camera. The move comes a week after West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar sanctioned prosecution against them.

The CBI arrested TMC ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherji, TMC MLA Madan Mitra and ex-Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee who was previously a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Following the arrest TMC supporters gathered outside the CBI office in Kolkata and held demonstrations. Mamata Banerjee too reached the Nizam Palace venue and refused to budge saying that the arrests were illegal.

Meanwhile, Banerjee’s nephew and TMC MP Abhishek urged party workers and supporters to refrain from violence. He tweeted, “I urge everyone to abide by the law & refrain from any activity that violates lockdown norms for the sake of the larger interest of Bengal and its people. We have utmost faith in the judiciary & the battle will be fought legally.”

I urge everyone to abide by the law & refrain from any activity that violates lockdown norms for the sake of the larger interest of Bengal and its people.

We have utmost faith in the judiciary & the battle will be fought legally.

— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) May 17, 2021

The governor too tweeted asking for law and order to be maintained:

Concerned at alarming situation. Call upon @MamataOfficial to follow constitutional norms & rule of law.

Police @WBPolice @KolkataPolice @HomeBengal must take all steps to maintain law & order.

Sad- situation is being allowed to drift with no tangible action by authorities.

— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 17, 2021

Meanwhile, The Telegraph quoted a CBI statement that said, “Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee have been arrested today by CBI anti-corruption bureau and are being produced in the jurisdictional court. On completion of investigation, prosecution sanction was sought against the public servants… Further investigation of the case shall continue.”

Senior lawyer and Congress spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi raised an interesting point when he tweeted about the possible illegality of the arrests saying, “West Bengal arrestees cannot be proceeded against without Speaker’s sanction. Hence lack of jurisdiction plus vindictive arrest plus timing of arrests, all smack of, steeped in and clearly proves cheapest and most vile vendetta.”

3/3As MLA’s, #WB arrestees cannot be proceeded against wo #Speaker’s sanction. Hence lack of jurisdiction plus vindictive arrests plus timing of arrests, all smack of, steeped in & clearly proves cheapest &most vile vendetta!

— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) May 17, 2021

About the Narada sting

The sting operation was carried out by Narada News portal CEO Mathew Samuel in 2014, but the tapes that show as many as 12 leaders taking bribes were made public only in 2016 around the time of elections. Interestingly, among the 12 were Mukul Roy and Suvendu Adhikari who have since jumped ship to the BJP. Interestingly, the BJP quietly removed a video of the sting operation from its Youtube site.

The Calcutta High Court had ordered a probe into the case in 2017, and the Supreme Court rejected a plea by the West Bengal government for a stay on the order for a probe.

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Battleground Bengal: Five sitting TMC MLAs join BJP

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 13:20:38 +0000

Image Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a rather lackluster rally in West Bengal, five sitting Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) jumped ship to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These are Sonali Guha, Jatu Lahiri, Dipendu Biswas, Rabindranath Bhattacharya and Sital Sardar.

While Guha’s switch was expected, given how she had openly expressed displeasure when her name was not included in the candidate list released on March 5. “I was not informed about the decision and not taken into confidence,” she had told media persons soon after discovering the exclusion of her name. Then on Sunday, the MLA from Satgachia (South 24 Parganas) spoke with BJP national vice president Mukul Roy who facilitated her induction into the party the following day at the party’s Hastings office. Her seat was offered to Mohan Chandra Naskar.

85-year-old Jatu Lahiri is a four-time legislator. He is the sitting MLA from Shibpur (Howrah) was also disappointed when his seat was given to Manoj Tiwary. Retired professional footballer Dipendu Biswas, who is the MLA from Bashirhat South (North 24 Parganas) also exited the TMC when his seat was given to Dr. Saptarshi Banerjee. 88-year-old Rabindra Bhattacharya is a Singur movement veteran, whose name was excluded from the candidate list. The TMC candidate from Singur (Hooghly) seat is Becharam Manna. Sital Sardar is the sitting MLA from Sankrail (Howrah), a constituency reserved from Scheduled Caste candidates. However, this time instead of Sardar, the seat was offered to Priya Paul.

TMC candidate from Habibpur (Malda), Sarla Mumru also joined the BJP despite being given the ticket. She was reportedly displeased as she wanted to contest from the Maldaha constituency. It is noteworthy that while Habibpur seat is reserved for a candidate belonging to a Scheduled Tribe (ST), Maldaha seat is reserved for a Scheduled Caste (SC) candidate. The TMC then revoked her candidacy and replaced her with Pradip Bhaskar, just three days after naming her as their candidate citing her “ill health”.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest from Nandigram opposite the newly defected Suvendu Adhikari. She has vacated her Bhawanipore seat from where Sohandeb Chattopadhya is now the TMC candidate.

On March 5, TMC had released a list of 291 candidates including 50 women, 42 Muslim, 79 (SC) and 17 (ST) candidates. TMC has not pitched any candidates from Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Kurseong. Assembly elections for 294 seats will take place in eight phases in the state starting March 27.

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Nominations filed on Whatsapp are acceptable: Kolkata High Court to Bhangar Committee

Tue, 24 Apr 2018 15:44:18 +0000

At least one person was killed and many were wounded in violence in several parts of West Bengal on Monday, April 23, the last day for filing nomination papers for the upcoming Panchayat elections in the states. Opposition parties have alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government has unleashed “a reign of terror to prevent opposition candidates from filing nomination papers”. However, today, as the Save land Committee from Bhangar reported the entire incident in High Court, the court passed an unprecedented judgment directing the Election Commissionto accept all the nominations sent on whatsapp. Activists perceive this as a moral victory as the court has said that under no conditions can these nominations be cancelled during the scrutiny on April 25.

On Monday, April 23, members of the Committee moved the High Court, notifying it that none of their 11 committee members had been able to file their nominations because the BDO and SDO officers were being controlled by armed TMC goons. Justice Subrata Talukdar asked Nilanjan Sandila, the State Election Commission officer, to immediately verify the true status of the nominations. Sandila confirmed that just 16 nomination papers had been filed from Polerhat-2 Panchayat, all of them from the ruling TMC party, and that no new nominations had been filed on Monday by that point in time. The judge directed the Election Commission to make sure all 11 Committee candidates could file their nominations, telling the commission to postpone the deadline if needed. He also asked the Committee members to file their nomination papers at Alipur’s Additional District Magistrate’s (ADM) office.

However, when the Committee member went to Alipur, they were informed that the ADM was not at the office, and that they would have to wait for him. The Committee members have alleged that armed TMC members and supporters forced them out of the office, assaulted them, and tore up their nomination papers. Allegedly, two women candidates–Chhanoara and Jahanara Bibi–along with Sharmistha Choudhury, one of the movement’s leaders, were taken away and imprisoned for more than an hour, with their hands tied. They were allegedly tortured by the goons, and the police present at the ADM’s office reportedly made no effort to rescue them. Following their release, Choudhury and other Committee members filed an FIR at the Alipur police station. Also, in all the chaos the committee was able to file nominations to BDO on whatsapp.

Earlier this month, on April 6, Amitava Bhattacharya, Shankar Das, and Biswajit Hazra, three activists who are part of the Bhangar Movement, went to file their nominations for the Panchayat elections. Das is one of the conveners of the Bhangar Solidarity Committee, while the other two belong to the Committee for the Protection of Land, Livelihood and Environment’ of the Bhangar Movement. The Committee had decided to contest the elections in 14 villages, both of South 21 Paragana and North 21 Paragana to bolster their anti-land grab movement. However, when the three activists went to file their nominations, they were allegedly beaten by TMC goons at the BDO office, while the police simply stood by. Egregiously, the activists–not the goons–were then arrested, and remain in jail, with multiple false and fabricated charges against them.

On April 8, too, according to Bhangar Movement activists, TMC goons attacked villagers and torched the Committee’s office, and bombed and fired randomly to create an atmosphere of terror. “These repressive tactics are being used to crush the anti-land grab movement of Bhangar, so that corporates’ plans of establishing power grids can be facilitated without any opposition. The goons wanted to ensure that no nominations are filed by the villagers,” said Priyasmita, a student activist associated with the movement.

On April 12, the Calcutta High Court had suspended the election process after the Committee alleged that the ruling TMC party had prevented their candidates from filing nominations. Other opposition parties had also filed similar complaints that were all put together for the hearing. On April 20, the court ordered the State Election Commission to schedule new dates for candidates who had previously not been able to file their nomination papers.

The Bhangar Movement was mounted in 2016 to oppose the alleged land grab by the Power Grid Corporation of India, a public sector unit, to establish a power grid. In 2017, the movement faced severe repression, with activists being lathi-charged by the government during a demonstration, and then many being booked under false cases. Activists are of the opinion that as the movement exerts more pressure against the construction of the grid, state repression also increases.

Last week, on April 19, the Bhangar Andolan Samhati Committee took out a rally in Kolkata to demand the unconditional release of four of its activists who remain incarcerated still. The Committee reportedly said that the four had “false cases” registered against them.

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