By Shubham Ghosh
Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal state, has a brilliant knack for hijacking any political movement, whether as an opposition leader or an administrator. She did it no differently in the wake of a horrific rape and murder of a junior doctor at the renowned RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the state’s capital, in the early hours of August 9.
Preliminary autopsy reports indicated that the 31-year-old, who was found lifeless on the floor of the institute’s seminar room in a semi-naked state and with multiple injuries, was sexually assaulted. The incident triggered a massive uproar not only in Bengal but across India and even overseas.
Crime against women is not new in India, but the Banerjee administration’s handling of the RG Kar incident shocked many. From labeling the death as a suicide, hastily cremating the victim’s body, reappointing the accused principal of RG Kar elsewhere hours after he resigned, to alleged police inaction after a massive mob vandalized the century-old institute—there were far too many questions for the state government to respond and it seemed to have no convincing answer.
Banerjee’s biggest blunder came when she led a protest rally with her ruling Trinamool Congress party in Kolkata on August 16 with some leaders, including members of parliament, demanding punishment for the guilty, while calls for her resignation grew stronger. She politicized the situation, accusing opposition parties like the Left and Right (Bharatiya Janata Party) of orchestrating the vandalism and redirecting focus to past violence under the Left rule in Bengal.
Banerjee also counter-accused the states ruled by the BJP highlighting incidents of crime against women there. Many wondered who Banerjee was protesting against since she is the head of the government and holds the home and health portfolios. But there is a method in her perceived ‘madness’. The veteran, a master in fighting political battles on the streets, conveniently took the snowballing crisis to her own turf, knowing very well that there is no
opposition leader in Bengal today who can match her formidable style. The strategy was to snatch the beleaguered opposition’s space and send the message that it is she who fights for the common people.
Also, by taking out the rally after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Banerjee tried to put pressure on the agency and indirectly on the BJP-led government in New Delhi captained by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She even gave the CBI an ultimatum to crack the case. The strategy was clear – blame the agency and the federal/central government and make it a full-fledged political war.
Banerjee went on the offensive keeping in mind the current situation in Bangladesh that borders her state. As many equated the scenario in Bengal with Bangladesh where the government of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina collapsed under a serious mass uprising despite having a brute majority, Banerjee felt the pulse at once and projected it as a sort of conspiracy to malign her governance. Or else, why would she target the opposition at a rally and say she has no longing for the chair?
The Trinamool Congress has remained divided over how Banerjee’s administration has handled the after-crime scene at RG Kar. It wouldn’t be surprising if the party insiders felt worried that a Bangladesh-like situation could unfold in Bengal despite its massive majority in Bengal's assembly and dominant victory in the state in the recent general elections.
The assembly election in Bengal is due in 2026. Both Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress would hope things cool down by then. But remembering the end days of the once mighty Left in the state when a similar citizen movement was witnessed on the streets of Bengal, the current dispensation would keep its fingers crossed.
(The writer is a senior journalist and political analyst based in Bengaluru)
