“Special session of the State Assembly to be held next week to pass a law seeking death penalty as the maximum punishment for rape”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, MP Abhishek Banerjee, had been virtually silent since the incident of rape and murder of a female doctor at R.G. Kar Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.

However, yesterday, Wednesday, the Chief Minister broke her silence and announced,

 ‘Now the state government is bringing a new law with the provision of death penalty for rape.’

Mamata Banerjee said,

 ‘A special session of the state assembly will be called next week to pass this law. According to the law, the trial of the crime will be completed within 10 days.’

After a meeting on Mayo Road, she got the cabinet to approve the bill proposing the death penalty for rape at a meeting at Nabanna, the West Bengal State Secretariat. She instructed a committee consisting of state Law Minister Moloy Ghatak, Chief Secretary BP Gopalika, and Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty to draft the law.

A special session of the West Bengal State Assembly could be called as early as next Monday to pass this bill. And the draft bill could be presented on Tuesday.

However, the Leader of the Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari said,

‘Mamata does not have the authority to organize a special session to create this law.’

He further said,

‘There is already a law in India regarding the death penalty for rape. How will Mamata turn another such bill into law?’

But Mamata said,

 ‘After passing this bill in the assembly, they will send it to the Governor. The Governor will give consent to that bill and send it to the President. But if Governor CV Ananda Bose does not consent to the bill, then women will sit in a sit-in strike in front of the Governor’s House. The strike will continue until he gives consent to that bill.’

Earlier, Mamata had appealed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring a bill demanding the death penalty for rapists. So yesterday, Mamata’s nephew Abhishek also roared that they would protest in Delhi over this bill. Demanding death penalty for rape, he said,

‘They have raised the demand “One demand, one clause, Chief Minister’s resignation.” And today we are raising, “One demand, one clause, pass the anti-rape law”.

Protests continue over doctor’s rape-murder

Protests continue over doctor’s rape-murder Even today, Thursday, the whole of India is burning with protests over the incident of rape and murder of a doctor at R.G. Kar Hospital.

Not just political parties, but the medical community of West Bengal, cultural organizations, sportspersons and sports organizations, film stars, lawyers, and people from all walks of life have joined this protest. Protests are happening every day.

Meanwhile, all opposition parties except Trinamool in the state are vocal about the role of the West Bengal government in diverting that murder case in a different direction. Many have alleged that Chief Minister Mamata has resorted to various tricks to give the murder a different shape. Meanwhile, Mamata and MP Abhishek have already taken on the CBI, which is investigating the incident.

And the BJP has taken to the field using that incident as a weapon. Inspired by them, a call for ‘Nabanna Abhiyan’ was given last Tuesday under the banner of a new organization called ‘West Bengal Student Society’. There was widespread clash between the protesters and the police in the state over this campaign.

In the context of this clash, the BJP called for a 12-hour bandh in the state yesterday, Wednesday. A group of Trinamool workers and supporters took to the field yesterday to prevent the bandh. There were also widespread clashes between them and the BJP bandh supporters in various places of the state. There were also bombings. More than two hundred BJP workers and supporters were arrested by the police. Yesterday was also the foundation day of the Congress and Trinamool Congress student organization TMCP.

On the other hand, yesterday the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the highest organization of doctors in India, announced in a notice the cancellation of the membership of Sandip Ghosh, former principal of R.G. Kar Hospital.”