Bengal Minister calls Kolkata college gangrape ‘small incident', then clarifies
At a time when the Trinamool-led Bengal government is facing widespread criticism and scrutiny in light of the recent crime cases in the state, Manas urged party workers and supporters to "stand beside" the chief minister, saying she tackles each and every incident with the care of a mother.advertisementAfter his statement sparked a row, Manas Bhunia came up with a clarification, saying nowhere in his speech did he mention the law college rape case or Kasba (the neighourhood where the college is situated)."Where did I mention the Kasba incident? Is my statement related to Kasba? This is completely misleading, deliberately added to humiliate, to insult," Bhunia said, while accusing the media of distorting his statement, and warning of legal action.On June 25, a 24-year-old woman student of the South Calcutta Law College was gang-raped for which three men were arrested apart from a college security guard. The prime accused, Monojit Mishra, is a former student and current general secretary of the South Kolkata district of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP).Before him, Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra and MP Kalyan Banerjee landed in hot soup by making controversial comments about the Kolkata gangrape case.Last Frida, Kalyan Banerjee said that a woman should be aware of the company she keeps before going out with men who have "dirty mindsets". Madan Mitra resorted to survivor-shaming, stating that the law student could have avoided the fate had she not gone to college alone.The duo received a sharp rebuke from the party leadership, who served them show-cause notices and sought their response within three days, asking why action should not be initiated against them.advertisementWhile Mitra has tendered an unconditional apology for his remarks, Kalyan Banerjee is yet to respond to the party's notice.- Ends
IN THIS STORY#Kolkata#West Bengal
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