Over the past week, women in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal have been protesting over the alleged systemic sexual exploitation by Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides. The issue has snowballed into a major political storm.
On February 14, the state unit of BJP, which has been criticising Mamata Banerjee and her party for acting as a silent spectator to sexual violence against Hindu women in Sandeshkhali, shared a video clip wherein TMC MLA Narayan Goswami is heard making an extremely racist remark against the indigenous tribal women victims who have come on camera and spoken about the atrocities meted at them by the TMC goons.
The clip shared is a snippet of an interview TMC MLA Narayan Goswami gave to ABP News Bangla. In the clip the TMC MLA is seen casting aspersions on the Hindu victims from Sandeshkhali who have come forward to narrate how the women in the area are being raped by Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides.
The TMC MLA is heard saying, “The adivasi or tribal women from Sandeshkhali can be identified by their physique and complexion. However, the women alleging harassment in front of the camera are fair. Can we infer that they are local adivasis?”
TMC MLA Narayan Goswami made some crude remarks about the Sandeshkhali tribal women. He belittled them by commenting on their physical structure and skin colour, exposing his dirty mentality.
— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) February 14, 2024
When will this demented, racist, and classist politics of TMC stop? When will the… pic.twitter.com/sz0hIiwOnU
The state unit of BJP shared the clip and wrote, “TMC MLA Narayan Goswami made some crude remarks about the Sandeshkhali tribal women. He belittled them by commenting on their physical structure and skin colour, exposing his dirty mentality. When will this demented, racist, and classist politics of TMC stop? When will the ruling party stop demeaning women?”
BJP MP Locket Chatterjee also reposnded to the controversial remark made by the TMC MLA calling his comments “utterly shameful and disgraceful”.
Utterly shameful and disgraceful!
— Locket Chatterjee (@me_locket) February 14, 2024
TMC MLA Narayan Goswami's crude remarks attacking the women of Sandeshkhali, clearly expresses his filthy mentality.
Belittling the tribal community and women based on their physical structure and skin color is a clear sign of the demented and… pic.twitter.com/tJmxVxdKNv
“TMC MLA Narayan Goswami’s crude remarks attacking the women of Sandeshkhali, clearly expresses his filthy mentality. Belittling the tribal community and women based on their physical structure and skin color is a clear sign of the demented and racist politics by the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. When will the neel-shada (dark-fair) bahini’s racism stop?” she wrote.
It is important to note that since the Sandeshkhali controversy erupted, the BJP has been questioning the lawlessness under Mamata Banerjee’s regime and why the woman Chief Minister of the state has turned her back on the victims. It has also raised fingers at Mamata Banerjee’s minister’s callous indifference towards the plight of the women victims and the high-handedness of the police in handling the issue.
Mamata Banerjee’s minister’s callous disregard for the suffering of the women victims in Sandeshkhali was on display yesterday, February 14. Rather than speaking up for the women victims, Nusrat Jahan, an actress and Trinamool Lok Sabha MP from Basirhat, the constituency that includes Sandeshkhali, was seen celebrating Valentine’s Week, posting reels on Instagram, and promoting her new film “Sentimental” on social media.
Given the seriousness of the allegations, Mamata Banerjee’s police response has also been egregiously inadequate. The West Bengal police have sought to downplay the severity of the situation by blatantly denying the allegations of sexual assault and rape, calling them “misinformation.”
On Wednesday (14th February), West Bengal Police shared from their X handle that no allegations about the rape and sexual exploitation of women have so far been received in connection to the events in Sandeshkhali. The West Bengal Police also warned that “strict legal action will be initiated against sections of the media for spreading unfounded misinformation” in this regard. The police received multiple replies to this post criticising police handling of the Sandeshkhali issue. The police hid all these replies.
The replies hidden by the West Bengal Police included strong criticism of the police by X users.
Wilful misinformation is being spread by a section of the media to mislead the people about the events in Sandeshkhali. It is reiterated that no allegations about rape of women have so far been received…(1/4)
— West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) February 14, 2024
Besides, the West Bengal police, working at the behest of TMC supremo and CM Mamata Banerjee has been accused of shielding the accused TMC leaders, instead of taking action. Reportedly, during the protests, police accompanied the Trinamool Congress workers and harassed the protesting women.
Moreover, it emerged that instead of taking action against the accused, the WB police filed cases against relatives of victims for making complaints. This was revealed by Rekha Sharma, the chairperson of the National Commission for Women. The tweeted, “According to my team who has visited Sandeshkali, police has filed complaints against the relatives of women victims instead of filing their complaints. Villagers are been terrified equally by goons and by the police.”
According to my team who has visited #Sandeshkali, police has filed complaints against the relatives of women victims instead of filing their complaints. Villagers are been terrified equally by goons and by the police. This is the way Mamta did treats women in West Bengal.…
— Rekha Sharma (@sharmarekha) February 13, 2024
On the other hand, a woman from the area also revealed how police are trying to avoid registering rape cases against the TMC men by asking for medical evidence.
Besides this, the West Bengal police also clashed with BJP workers who were trying to reach the SP’s office in Basirhat to protest against the systematic sexual assault of Hindu women in Sandeshkhali at the hands of Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons.
On Tuesday, February 13, when the BJP workers led by party state president Sukanta Majumdar were marching towards the Superintendent of Police office, the state police started raining sticks and batons on them. Tear gas shells were fired and water canons were used to disperse the crowd. Sukanta Majumdar was detained by police. Though he was released later BJP revealed how the police had manhandled Majumdar.
“Sukanta Majumdar is also an Hon’ble Member of the Parliament. (CM) Mamata Banerjee’s police should hang their heads in shame for manhandling him. I condemn this misuse of power. The police, which are nothing less than the ruling party cadre, have crossed all limits,” Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said.
On Wednesday, February 14, again when the BJP workers led by state president Sukanta Mujumdar were en route to Sandeshkhali to meet the victims, they were stopped at Taki in North 24 Parganas district by the state police. During the scuffle, West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar fell from the bonnet of a van and fell unconscious after which he had to be admitted to a hospital in Kolkata.
