NEW DELHI, July 21 (PTI): BJP MP Locket Chatterjee broke down on Friday recounting cases of atrocities against women, including them being allegedly disrobed, in West Bengal and asked if such incidents will get attention only if their videos go viral.
The BJP also highlighted cases of similar crimes in Rajasthan as it amped up its campaign against opposition parties over the issue of atrocities against women, amid its rivals targeting it over a video of two women being paraded naked by a mob in strife-hit Manipur.
Alleging that a “Manipur-like” situation prevails in West Bengal, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, who was joined by Chatterjee at a press conference, claimed that a woman was paraded naked in South Panchla for daring to contest the recent panchayat polls in West Bengal.
Both the leaders, who are members of Lok Sabha, also mentioned cases of atrocities against women in Alipurduar and Birbhum to hit out at Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Over 57 people have been killed in violence during and after the polls in the state, Majumdar claimed.
An emotional Chatterjee was moved to tears as she spoke about these incidents.
“The West Bengal chief minister is silent despite being a woman. You tell us where we will go. We also want our daughters to be saved,” she said crying.
“We are also daughters of the country. West Bengal is also part of the country,” Chatterjee said, trying to compose herself.
Both leaders condemned the incident in Manipur but asked if videos of similar crimes in West Bengal needed to go viral for people to pay attention to the situation there. A TMC leader was involved in one of the attacks, they claimed.
“The situation prevailing in Manipur is also present in West Bengal,” she alleged. A woman was disrobed and assaulted in a polling booth, she added.
In one incident, Majumdar alleged a woman was disrobed and paraded on a donkey. Both leaders accused the state police of inaction.
They also took a swipe at the Congress, saying it is standing with the TMC whose hands are stained with the blood of its workers.
Hitting out at Banerjee, Chatterjee said women are being “disrobed” and paraded in the state while she is observing ‘martyrs’ day’.
“Democracy has been murdered in the state. Banerjee should first take care of Bengal before travelling to Manipur,” she said, claiming over 3,000 women are in relief camps.
At another press conference here, union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and BJP national general secretary Arun Singh alleged that Congress-ruled Rajasthan has become a “completely failed state” with at least 17 cases of rape being registered every day.
They asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi when he will visit the state to see the “total collapse” of law and order there.
Raising the issue of women safety in Rajasthan, Shekhawat also listed alleged incidents of atrocities against Dalits and hit out at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, a Dalit leader, for not taking cognisance of such incidents.
“As per media reports, every day 17 to 18 cases of rape and five to seven cases of murder are registered in Rajasthan…Extortion of business owners are happening every day. Rajasthan is in the number one position when it comes to crime against women, crime against children and atrocities on Dalits,” Shekhawat told the press conference at the BJP headquarters here.
Rajasthan is also in the number one position in corruption and the state’s economy is in a “miserable” condition, he said.
