New Delhi: BJP MP Locket Chatterjee Friday broke down at a press convention and mentioned the West Bengal panchayat elections had been “nothing however a shameful section of violence and atrocities towards girls”, recounting alleged incidents of sexual assault on girls candidates.
The Hooghly MP mentioned that on 8 July, the day of panchayat elections, a gram sabha candidate of the BJP was stripped bare inside a polling sales space and molested in Howrah’s Panchla city.
The MP additional mentioned that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken on the Manipur case, he had additionally requested different states to strengthen regulation and order. She was referring to the PM’s remarks made a day after a purported video of two girls being paraded bare by a gaggle of males in Manipur went viral on social media.
#WATCH | BJP MP Locket Chatterjee breaks down as she recounts an alleged incident of sexual assault by TMC employees of a BJP candidate throughout Panchayat polls on eighth July in Howrah district of West Bengal pic.twitter.com/45VdDGqDXi
— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2023
Chatterjee’s press convention comes a day after Modi made the remarks as a part of his deal with forward of the monsoon session of Parliament.
The BJP MP questioned the “silence” of not simply West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but in addition Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Sonia Gandhi.
“Congress has additionally joined fingers with Mamata Banerjee now. That’s the reason each Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are silent. These folks cry in different states, however they’re silent in West Bengal,” Chatterjee mentioned.
She added: “We’re additionally girls. We’re additionally the daughters of this nation. West Bengal can also be a part of India. We additionally wish to save our daughters. We wish you to speak in regards to the daughters of our area too.”
Calling the Manipur incident “extremely unlucky”, she mentioned: “We condemn it. However what has occurred in West Bengal is equally shameful. The elections held in West Bengal haven’t been panchayat elections however ‘khoon ka chunaav’. These elections had been nothing however a shameful section of violence and atrocities towards girls.”
The MP began crying whereas addressing the press convention and urged folks to “concentrate in the direction of the daughters of West Bengal too”.
An ANI report Friday quoted West Bengal DGP Manoj Malviya as saying that the police investigated the alleged assault of the BJP candidate, however discovered no proof.
ANI additionally carried an interview of the alleged sufferer.
West Bengal | “They dragged me outdoors the polling sales space holding my hair & threw me down the steps. Additionally they ripped my garments. Later, I went to a close-by home to borrow garments to put on. Had my husband not been current there they might have executed something to me. He saved me. I… pic.twitter.com/jg5XR43qS2
— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2023
‘No video as a result of everybody had weapons of their fingers’
In response to Chatterjee, on 11 July, the day of counting in Domjur, a candidate from Mamata’s TMC was additionally assaulted. “She filed an FIR too. However there isn’t a video as a result of folks had been carrying weapons contained in the sales space. Will we solely discuss such points when a video goes viral? Why is all people conserving mum in these circumstances?”
Coming down closely on Mamata, Chatterjee mentioned loads of violence and circumstances of atrocities towards girls are going unreported in Bengal. “Regardless of being a girl chief minister, Mamata Banerjee will not be stopping the atrocities on girls,” she mentioned as she burst into tears.
Elaborating on the alleged incident of sexual assault of a BJP gram sabha candidate, she mentioned “there isn’t a video as a result of everybody who was current there had weapons of their fingers”.
BJP’s West Bengal chief Sukanta Majumdar in the meantime mentioned: “The incident that occurred in Manipur could be very unhappy, we strongly condemn it, such incident mustn’t occur anyplace. However in Bengal’s South Panchla, a girl member of the BJP was paraded bare for contesting the panchayat elections. Is that this much less unhappy than Manipur?”
“The one distinction is that it doesn’t have a video. As a result of Mamata Banerjee’s police and goons don’t enable anybody to make movies,” he alleged.
Quickly after her press convention, the BJP held one other press convention highlighting circumstances of atrocities in the direction of girls in Rajasthan.
“In response to media stories, 17 to 18 rape incidents are occurring in Rajasthan daily and about 5 to 7 homicide circumstances are registered daily,” mentioned Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat.
He added: “When a girl MLA of Congress is questioned about incidents of atrocities on girls in Rajasthan, she says that ‘even I’m not secure although I stay in safety’.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Additionally learn: ‘Begged mob to go away me, mentioned I’m a mom’: Kuki lady in viral video remembers 2-hr assault