‘How was she out at 12.30 am?’
BJP Criticizes Mamata Banerjee’s Comment on Durgapur Incident, Calls It ‘Insensitive’
Durgapur: In shocking remarks in the aftermath of an MBBS student's gang rape in West Bengal's Durgapur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has tried to shift the responsibility of students' security to private colleges and questioned how the 23-year-old student managed to leave the campus late at night.
The comments have drawn a sharp response, with the BJP accusing the Chief Minister of victim shaming. "She was studying in a private medical college. Whose responsibility is it? How did she come out at 12.30 at night?" Mamata asked in her first remarks to the media after the incident. The Chief Minister described the incident as "shocking" and added that Bengal police were taking all necessary steps.
The Bengal CM said private medical colleges should take care of their students and the "culture at night". "They should not be allowed to come out. They have to protect themselves. It is a forest area," Banerjee said. Hitting out at the BJP government in Odisha, Banerjee brought up cases of rape in the neighbouring state. "In Odisha, girls were raped on sea beaches. What action has been taken by the Odisha government?" she asked. The Chief Minister said the guilty will be punished. "We will take stringent action. When it happens in other states, it is condemnable. Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha have seen so many (such cases). We think the governments there should take stringent action."
