On Friday (July 21), BJP leader Locket Chatterjee broke down while talking about the plight of party candidate, who was physically assaulted, stripped and paraded naked in Howrah by TMC workers during panchayat elections.
“We are also women. We want our daughters to be protected. We are the daughters of this country. The victims of Manipur are also the daughters of India,” she emphasised.
#WATCH | BJP MP Locket Chatterjee breaks down as she recounts an alleged incident of sexual assault by TMC workers of a BJP candidate during Panchayat polls on 8th July in Howrah district of West Bengal pic.twitter.com/45VdDGqDXi
— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2023
While trying to hold back her tears, Chatterjee added, “West Bengal is a part of India. It is not an outside State. Yesterday, PM Modi spoke not only about Manipur but all States. He reiterated the need for strong law enforcement.”
“Just like the victim in Manipur is a daughter of India, similarly, we want all of you to speak about us. Our gram sabha candidate was assaulted during the panchayat election,” the BJP leader noted.
We condemn the Manipur incident. Manipur's daughters are our daughters but what about the woman of Bengal? The same incident as Manipur took place in the state of Bengal also during the panchayat polls, the only difference is that there is no video: BJP leader Locket Chatterjee… pic.twitter.com/e7Pq2i5zX0
— Republic (@republic) July 21, 2023
On Thursday (July 20), a BJP gram sabha candidate in West Bengal informed that she was physically assaulted, stripped and paraded naked by workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party during the panchayat elections.
As per a report by ANI, the incident took place on July 8, 2023, in Dakshin Panchla in the Howrah district of West Bengal. In her official complaint filed with the Panchla police, the victim narrated that the assault was carried out by TMC gram sabha candidate Hemanta Roy at the polling station.
She further added that Roy was accompanied by other 40-50 TMC workers, including Noor Alam, Sanju Das, Ranabir Panja, Sukamal Panja, Alfi Sk. The copy of the First Information Report (FIR), as reported by Republic TV, read, “They hit me on my chest, and head with sticks and pushed me out of the polling booth.”
The victim pointed out that the TMC gram sabha candidate instigated party workers such as Sukamal Panja and Ali Sheikh to tear her saree and inner dress. “They further assaulted me and forced me to undress naked and molested me in front of other people,” she emphasised.
The development came amid public outrage over a viral video from Manipur wherein two women were gang-raped and paraded naked by a mob of men
