
Amid Kolkata rape case row, TMC's Kalyan Banerjee takes 'honeymoon' jibe at Mahua Moitra
Amid a row over Kolkata gang-rape case, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee on Sunday took a jibe at party MP Mahua Moitra, saying, she has 'come back to India after her honeymoon'.
Banerjee made the comments in response to Moitra's 'misogyny" remark on his controversial statement in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a female law student at South Calcutta Law College in Kolkata.
Targeting Moitra after her recent marriage with Odisha's ex-BJD MP Pinaki Misra, Banerjee said: 'Mahua has come back to India after her honeymoon and started fighting with me."
'She is saying I am anti-women. What is she? She has broken up a family of 40 years and married a 65-year-old guy. Did she not harm the lady? The women of the country will decide whether she broke up the family."
'She is against all women leaders of her constituency. She doesn't allow anyone to work. She was elected as MLA in 2016, she had earlier called Rahul Gandhi a friend."
'An MP who was expelled from Parliament for breach of ethics is telling me about philosophy! She is the most anti-woman. She knows only to secure her future and make money," he said while talking to media.
After Banerjee's controversial remarks on the gang-rape case sparked a political row, TMC distanced itself from his statement.
However, Moitra said 'misogyny' exists in every party, but the Mamata Banerjee-led party is different as it condemns its own leaders for their loose talk.
Banerjee had said: 'A few men commit this type of crime…But what can be done if a friend rapes his friend? Will the police be in schools?"
On Saturday, another TMC leader and MLA Madan Mitra also made controversial remarks saying, the incident would not have happened had the student taken a couple of friends with her or informed people before going there.
"This incident has sent a message to girls that if someone calls you when the college is closed, don't go, nothing good will come of it. If that girl had not gone there, this incident wouldn't have happened," Mitra said.
"If she had informed someone before going or had taken a couple of friends with her, then this wouldn't have happened. The one who committed this dirty deed took advantage of the situation," he added.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Kolkata college rape: TMC rift widens; Mahua Moitra's rebuke, Kalyan Banerjee's retort shake party unity
NEW DELHI: The fault lines within sharpened on Sunday as senior MP Kalyan Banerjee launched a personal attack on party colleague after she publicly condemned 'misogynistic' remarks made by him and MLA Madan Mitra in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a law college student in Kolkata. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On Sunday, the issued a showcause notice to Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra and censured Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee over their controversial remarks on the June 25 assault that took place within the college premises. Party president Subrata Bakshi asked Mitra to respond within three days, accusing him of making 'unsolicited, unnecessary, and insensitive' comments that hurt the party's image. While Mitra had advised girls not to trust known persons on college holidays — a statement widely criticised as victim-blaming — Banerjee triggered a fresh row by questioning how the government could prevent incidents where 'a friend rapes another friend'. Though both leaders attempted to explain or roll back their comments, what followed was a rare public showdown. Banerjee lashed out at MP Mahua Moitra after she posted on X, 'Misogyny in India cuts across party lines. What differentiates TMC is that we condemn such disgusting comments no matter who makes them.' Banerjee hit back, dragging Moitra's expulsion from Parliament and her personal life into the row. 'If she accuses me of being anti-woman, what is she?' Banerjee said, taking a swipe at her marriage to former BJD MP Pinaki Misra. 'She broke a 40-year-old marriage and married a man who is 65. Did she not hurt the other lady?' The party, in an official statement, distanced itself from the comments made by both Banerjee and Mitra, stressing that these were personal opinions and not endorsed by the TMC. The internal friction has emerged even as the TMC faces fire from the BJP and opposition over the recent spike in crimes against women in educational institutions — including the RG Kar Medical College rape-murder case last year. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now BJP's Dharmendra Pradhan, while addressing a programme in Kolkata, said the 'collapse of Bengal's education system' had once again been exposed. 'The RG Kar incident should have been a wake-up call, but the same barbarity has returned,' he said. BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar, released from lock-up after 15 hours, said: 'Two rapes inside educational campuses within eight months — this isn't an isolated incident but a pattern.' BJP has announced district-level gheraos of SP offices on Monday. Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari has called for a Nabanna Abhiyan on August 9 in solidarity with the families of both survivors, accusing the state government of shielding political allies at the cost of student safety.


News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Kolkata Gang-Rape Case: CCTV Footage, Data Records Match With Victim's Statement, Says Police
Last Updated: Technical evidence supports the victim's statement in the Kolkata gang rape case. Protests erupted citywide. The investigation progresses with more personnel. Kolkata gang rape case of 24-year-old law student has taken a significant turn as technical evidence, including CCTV footage and call data records, has been analysed and found to corroborate the victim's statement. The investigation team is now gearing up to interrogate students to further verify the facts of the incident. According to the police, the vice principal of the institution has confirmed that none of the accused persons had access to the CCTV feeds, which suggests that the footage has not been tampered with. Meanwhile, on Sunday, people from diverse backgrounds united in solidarity, participating in protests against the gang rape of a law college student in Kolkata. Demonstrations took place outside South Calcutta Law College, the alleged crime scene, and Kasba Police Station, where the First Information Report (FIR) was filed. Protests spread to different parts of the city by evening, including Jadavpur, Rashbehari, and Harzra. Supporters of 'Abhaya Mancha" a group created after rape and murder of a trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Hospital and Medical College on August 9, 2024, participated in the protests, along with students and the elderly. The investigation into the incident has seen significant progress, with the medico-legal examination and the survivor's statement under Section 183 of BNSS being completed. To expedite the probe, the Kolkata Police has bolstered the Special Investigation Team by increasing its personnel to nine officers. The protests on Sunday brought back memories of the massive protests after the horrific crime at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital last year. 'Yesterday, till midnight, I spoke to the victim's parents. I told them I would come and meet them. They were very tense and wanted cooperation. Today in the morning, when we tried to reach them, they did not pick up the phone. When I asked the police, they said they don't know. When I asked SP Bauruipur, he said their house was under lock and key," she said. 'I visited, and they cooperated, but the pace of occurrence was sealed; they did not allow me to record. They said if we record, they will seize it. How is that possible? I'm going to Delhi and will discuss and give a report. We are disappointed," she added. The police have arrested three people, including the main accused, in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a 24-year-old law student inside the college campus on Wednesday, June 25. A five-member special team has also been constituted to probe the incident. First Published: June 30, 2025, 07:10 IST


Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Puri Rath Yatra stampede kills 3 as crowd swells to 20k outside temple
Bhubaneswar: A pre-dawn stampede during Rath Yatra festivities in Odisha's temple town Puri left three devotees dead and dozens injured Sunday as over 20,000 people crowded into a space meant for less than a third of that number. The dead were identified as Premakanta Mohanty, 78, a retired state govt employee from Bhubaneswar; homemaker Basanti Sahu, 42, from Khurda; and Prabhati Das, 52, of Balianta in Bhubaneswar. They had come with families for "darshan" of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra atop chariots before the sibling deities entered Gundicha temple on the third day of the annual festival. The chariots were parked outside the temple, drawing massive crowds that overwhelmed barriers. Eyewitnesses attributed the chaos to poor planning and inadequate crowd control measures. They said the surge began as two trucks carrying wooden ladders for the chariots entered the dense crowd around 4am. "The narrow congregation site, combined with insufficient police presence and scattered palm log ladders near the chariots, resulted in the stampede," eyewitness Chinmay Patra said. CM Mohan Charan Majhi ordered a probe led by development commissioner Anu Garg and announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh for each victim's family. He called the lapses "unforgivable" and transferred Puri district collector S S Swain and SP Vinit Agrawal. DCP-ranked officer V P Pati and commandant Ajay Kumar Padhi were suspended for negligence. Cops, govt under fire for crowd-control 'fiasco' Bhubaneswar: Sunday's stampede at Puri in BJP-governed Odisha spotlighted failure of police's crowd control measures. Opposition BJD and Congress attributed the tragedy to govt's incompetence and "favour" shown to BJP workers to gather around the chariots. While there was a delay on Friday due to a crowd surge, the chariot-pulling ceremony eventually went off smoothly that day and Saturday with over 12 lakh devotees. But alleged mismanagement of a smaller gathering of 5,000-6,000 near Gundicha Temple led to the stampede Sunday. "The location in front of Gundicha Temple can accommodate a maximum of 5,000-6,000 devotees. Stampedes can occur when chariots are moving. However, tragedy struck before stationary chariots, a first in history," said Binayak Dasmohapatra, a senior servitor of Jagannath Temple. Police had announced deployment of 275 AI-enabled cameras and drones for real-time crowd monitoring as part of the security and traffic measures. At least two IPS officers were assigned to oversee 5 companies of RAF, 6 SP-rank officers, 7 ASPs, 24 DSPs, 42 inspectors, 189 SIs/ASIs, 12 havildars, 110 home guards and 52 platoons of state police. Despite this, security experts and devotees criticised police for failing to anticipate the massive weekend crowd. " I suspect the personnel lowered their guard after Friday and Saturday, and did not take any preemptive measure for the remaining days of the festival," said Sahadeb Mohanty, a retired DSP. Leader of opposition and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik posted on X, "While I refrain from accusing govt of criminal negligence, their blatant callousness undeniably contributed to this tragedy." State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das claimed the entire arrangement was "VVIP and BJP worker-centric". Govt pushed back against the allegations, pointing out that action had been taken against negligent officers and more would follow after ongoing inquiries."Senior police officers are on the spot to ensure comprehensive crowd control measures," law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said. Incident caused by 'abysmal failure' of crowd mgmt: Naveen Prabhati, one of the victims, had travelled in a group of seven. Her mother Binodini Panda said: 'Thousands pushed through, walking over people. Some people lifted me and some others, but my daughter remained trapped. By the time we managed to reach her, she was gone.' According to Basanti's husband Dilip Kumar Sahu, the crowd surged at dawn. 'People started falling, including us. We were trampled. My wife got trapped. We pulled her out and waited for nearly an hour for an ambulance. She was declared dead at the hospital.' Opposition politicians blamed BJP-led govt for security failures. Former CM Naveen Patnaik of BJD called it an 'abysmal failure' of crowd management. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said 'no lapses in this responsibility are acceptable'. Undeterred, thousands of devotees continued gathering for darshan of the deities through the day. 'We are saddened by the tragedy but not scared. Our faith is stronger than our fear,' said Saudamini Sarangi, 65, from Cuttack. 'There was chaos for about an hour but then normalcy returned quickly. We offered prayers smoothly afterward,' said Sovan Pattnaik of Bhubaneswar. Police deployed reinforcements, set up barricades and implemented multiple queue systems. 'We appealed to people not to spread rumours. Many were taking photos in the crowd, adding to the challenge,' said DGP YB Khurania. The festival continues through July 8.