Mamata govt handled RG Kar incident badly: Jawhar Sircar shares why he quit

New Delhi: Former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar on Monday opened up on why he quit the party and laid out five reasons for his resignation.

Speaking to IANS, Sircar asserted that the RG Kar rape and murder case was mishandled, which led to widespread dissatisfaction among the public.

Following are the excerpts from the interview:

IANS: RG Kar's former Principal Sandeep Gosh was arrested in connection with the rape, murder and destruction of evidence and conspiracy. Is this the reason for your resignation as a Rajya Sabha member?

Jawhar Sircar: My resignation is on a wider issue. I wanted to bring it to the notice of Trinamool leaders that there is widespread dissatisfaction among the people over the RG Kar Medical College incident, which was handled badly. I am an administrator. I know what is good handling and what is bad handling.

My second issue is corruption and favouritism, and I am very clear that there are issues of corruption and favouritism within the health sector. Third, women of West Bengal have come out on the streets. I cannot be within the party and support an anti-party movement.

The fourth issue is the wider disaffection among the people at the style of functioning of certain leaders.

The fifth issue is the most important reason why I have resigned: all the four issues put together put Trinamool in a bad light. However, Trinamool is the only party that can stop BJP from entering and capturing West Bengal.

BJP should not capture the state because West Bengal has a completely different culture, be it political or social, which can not gel with what BJP thinks. We are not communal.

West Bengal does not want BJP to come in by default because there is no such party that can stop BJP, keeping in mind all its manpower, Central interventions and selective vindictiveness. Congress in Bengal is finished. Left in West Bengal is battered. Only Trinamool can stop BJP. And I informed that party that if you lose the first four issues, you'll lose the fifth one also.

IANS: What is the stake of BJP in West Bengal? Do you think the RG Kar incident will be a drawback for Mamata Banerjee in the election?

Jawhar Sircar: It should not be a drawback as elections are quite some distance away. If she takes corrective measures from now, she will be able to stop it as she has done before. But she needs to take corrective measures, as I have said in my letter.

IANS: Do you think she will tmake the corrective decision in future? She tried to connect with the doctors but they demanded a live streaming of the meeting, which she refused.

Jawhar Sircar: In the letter I wrote, I said that she should have jumped into the matter within the first few weeks when the incident occurred. She is not somebody who is scared to visit Manipur. She is not like that; she doesn't get frightened to travel without a security bodyguard.

She should have jumped into the problem and spoken to the doctor. If she had done that in the first few days, the position would not have hardened. The positions are now hardened, and the doctors' movement also has infiltration. I am using the word infiltration as it is from mischievous elements. One was caught yesterday.

After 35 days, when positions are hardened, things cannot be sorted out in one day with a handshake and a hug. Everything will be ok, but it will require patience.

IANS: What do you think about the arrest of Sandeep Gosh and Abhijit Mondal?

Jawhar Sircar: CBI must have found some proof. It is up to CBI to prove themselves or look like a fool if you make such a high-profile arrest. If the CBI has arrested someone for the sake of the show, its vindictiveness will come out. However, if CBI has arrested someone on the grounds of certain pieces of evidence, that will also come out.

In a high-profile case, one has to be careful. I won't comment on CBI arrest as good or bad because I don't have the evidence in front of me. However, something was wrong with Sandeep Ghosh, that is why, from the first day itself, I said that it was important to remove him from the post.

IANS: Has any attempt been made to save Sandeep Ghosh?

Jawhar Sircar: I don't know about that. The matter I raised was that he was under somebody's protection. Who is that 'somebody' will also be revealed. Somebody was saving Sandeep Ghosh and was advising the Chief Minister that he was innocent and all. The Chief Minister, taking contrary factors into cognizance, must have believed them.

IANS: Since it took so many days to arrest Sandeep Ghosh in connection with the RG Kar case, do you think Mamata Banerjee was trying to save him?

Jawhar Sircar: Sandeep Ghosh did not rape or murder. According to CBI, he is involved in the cover-up. CBI would have to prove it and should have enough evidence for it. It is not just a sensational arrest made just a few days before the Supreme Court hearing.

As far as Mamata Banerjee is concerned, people are claiming her involvement in the case, and a public image has been made. I have informed her that she should be careful about this.

IANS: Who are the people behind giving another posting to Sandeep Ghosh immediately after he resigned from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital? Do you think it was the state government?

Jawhar Sircar: I can't say. I am an outsider. But we all saw that he was immediately posted somewhere else, and I felt bad, and I have written about it. It doesn't look good. This is a part of the mistakes which were made. Whoever was behind it was wrong.

IANS: Should Sandeep Ghosh's call records be checked? Can this expose his links and collusion with Trinamool and the police?

Jawhar Sircar: This is all speculation. Let the case roll out, and everything will become clear. CBI is very fond of the West Bengal government. Everything will be under scrutiny, and everything will be under the appeal of the judicial system.

IANS: Do you think the Kolkata Police Commissioner should also be arrested in connection to investigating the criminal conspiracy?

Jawhar Sircar: No, it is up to the CBI to take a call on who will be arrested. It might go up to the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister. Maybe the Prime Minister gave the call. Let things come out in the light, we would know.

IANS: What is your stand on the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was recently passed in the Bengal Assembly?

Jawhar Sircar: It's a good bill. The accused will be punished timely. The other part of the solution lies in giving respect. West Bengal is one of the most women-empowered states in India. I am proud to say that. According to the NCRB statistics, women in West Bengal are the safest.

Why did the Bill come here? It is because the women here are empowered. You couldn't have done it somewhere else. You can only do it here and make a precedent for the rest of India. Additionally, society should also participate in the process of protection.

IANS: How is it possible that a woman on duty is raped inside her workplace? Are women not safe in their workplace?

Jawhar Sircar: Yes, this is a matter of investigation. It is a matter of security concerns. And it will come out. How did no one see what was happening? How was everyone unconscious of the situation? Everything is under scrutiny and will come out.

IANS: The allegations were made by the victim's parents that they were offered money by Kolkata Police. What do you have to say about this?

Jawhar Sircar: Again, a matter of dispute. They have made the allegations, but Kolkata Police have denied it. Let the investigations make it clear. Let the punishment be given.