Even as the Hindu women in Sandeshkhali came out in protest against TMC leaders Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides exposing the horror of rape, sexual exploitation, and threats unleashed upon them, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge remains unmoved, unaffected. Speaking at TV9 Bharatvarsh’s ‘What India Thinks Today’ conclave on Tuesday (27th February), he said that such things keep happening in West Bengal and its not relevant for a national debate.
When asked about what his and the Congress party’s stand is on the Sandeshkhali horror, Mallikarjun Kharge started talking about MSP and farmers instead. He said, “See, we need to do something for the farmers, for that we have promised legal guarantee [for MSP]. In our very first announcement we promised that if our [I.N.D.I.A.] alliance comes to power, we will help legalise MSP…”
Even when he somehow realised that the question was about atrocities against women in Sandeskhali and not about farmers or MSP, Kharge dismissed the incident as state-level party politics and not worthy of a national debate, “See in West Bengal it has been like this…on one side there is Congress party, one side the communists and on another is TMC…so about these things…I don’t want comment much about it on a national level. (Dekho, wahan par hamesha ye chalte rehta hai ki ek taraf Congress party ke log hain, ek taraf communist party ke log hain aur ek taraf TMC hai..toh ye cheezein…rashtriya star par uske baare mein main zyada comment nahi karna chahta hoon),” Kharge said.
While the question was about the Congress party’s position on the Sandeshkhali issue, the party president explained the political landscape of West Bengal instead after bringing in MSP out of nowhere. The TV9 Bharatvarsh’s anchor reiterated his question about the atrocities on women in Sandeshkhali. To this, Kharge finally said, “That we condemn…we condemn the atrocities on women…that is why we are fighting. After independence, it was Congress that gave voting rights to women. Adult franchise…it was not there even in England, France and the US…”
Ironically, in the same program, Mallikarjun Kharge had said before that his party was determined to “save the country and its constitution,” yet Kharge was unwilling to even discuss the rampant crimes against women in Sandeshkhali and seek justice for them.
His apparent attempts to dodge the question by discussing MSP and women’s voting rights, among other things, demonstrate that Congress’s sole goal right now is to oppose Modi, and the party is unwilling to upset TMC even though its leader, Shahjahan Sheikh, is the main accused perpetrator in the Sandeshkhali crimes and is still at large.
Shame on @kharge!
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) February 27, 2024
Q. What is Congress stand on Sandeshkhali?
Kharge- We support farmers, will give them MSP
Q. Adhir Ranjan called it Jungle Raj?
Kharge- There are 3 parties Congress, left, TMC, all these happen
Q. What about women safety?
– Congress gave voting rights to… pic.twitter.com/DhQCgBeAhy
“Ye sab chalte rehta hai” (such things go on), stated by the Congress President in the context of Sandeshkhali, insinuating that it is more about regional party politics between the TMC, Congress and Communists, and not worthy of discussion at a national level, shows how the party trivialises crimes against women as per their political convenience.
How can a party whose leaders refuse to stand with women seeking justice and dignity after years of abuse, exploitation, threats, and other mistreatment at the hands of TMC leaders claim to fight for saving the country, its democracy, or its constitution? Are the women of Sandeshkhali, not Indian citizens, or is their plight not alarming enough to warrant national debate? The question arises as to whether the Congress party and Mallikarjun Kharge would have been as apathetic to the episode if it happened in a BJP-ruled state.
However, the Congress leader’s dismissal of the sexual exploitation and institutionalized harassment the women in Sandeshkhali faced at the hands of accused TMC leaders, is not surprising since the Congress party has a history of downplaying, brushing aside and even justifying riots and violence at times.
In May 2019, Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, insulted the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots by dismissing the issue in an attempt to discredit Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Notably, the anti-Sikh pogrom had resulted in deaths of thousands of Sikhs in Delhi. In a blatant display of zero empathy for the victims of the riots, Rahul Gandhi’s political mentor said, ““Ab kya hai ’84 ka? Aapne kya kiya 5 saal mein, uski baat kariye. ’84 mein hua to hua. Aapne kya kiya? (now what about ’84? What did you do in 5 years, talk about that. What happened in ’84 had happened. What did you do?) You were voted to create jobs. You were voted to create 200 smart cities. Aapne wo bhi nahi kiya. Aapne kuch nahi kiya isliye aap yahan wahan gup lagate hain (you didn’t do that also. You didn’t do anything hence you are talking here and there).”
Back in November 1984, then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had justified the violence that took place against the Sikh civilians after former PM Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards. He had said, “Jab bhi koi bada ped girta hai, to dharti thodi hilti hai. (When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.)”
It is notable here that Congress leaders like Sajjan Kumar were directly involved in the violence against Sikhs.
Protests in Sandeshkhali
On 8th February, hundreds of women in Sandeshkhali marched to the streets to protest land grabbing, wage nonpayment, and sexual abuse committed by Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his two aides, Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar.
The women attacked his illegally acquired properties, setting fire to a poultry farm owned by TMC leader Shiba Prasad Hazra. They also encircled the Sandeshkali police station, demanding the trio’s immediate arrest. The commotion in the village lasted three days. Notably, while Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar have been arrested, the main perpetrator, Sheikh Shahjahan, is still on the run from law enforcement. Meanwhile, CM Mamata Banerjee defended Sheikh Shahjahan and blamed the BJP-RSS saying that Sandeshkhali had become an RSS bunker.
