On Saturday (24th August), the Leader of the Opposition and senior BJP leader, Suvendu Adhikari, accused West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee of unleashing a ‘sinister’ toolkit to undermine the ‘Nabanna Abhiyan’. Notably, a protest march called ‘Nabanna Abhiyan’ has been called for 27th August in which demonstrators will march towards the state secretariat building – Nabanna – to seek Justice for the RG Kar Hospital victim.
Mamata Police is unleashing sinister 'toolkit' to deviate protestors from Marching towards Nabanna, seeking justice for the RG Kar PGT Lady Doctor !!!
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) August 24, 2024
West Bengal Govt is trembling with fear since the call for 'Navanna Abhijaan' on 27th August went viral on social media. The… pic.twitter.com/U8eHr2P5nX
The development comes a day after the Calcutta High Court refused to stop a march to the West Bengal state secretariat, ‘Nabanna’, on 27th August. Nabanna Abhiyan aims to demand Justice for the trainee female doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Hospital on 9th August. The High Court held that the fundamental right to hold peaceful protest cannot be curbed.
On Saturday, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari charged CM Mamata Banerjee with using a ‘sinister toolkit’ to stop protesters from marching towards Nabanna. He said that the Mamata Banerjee government has been badly rattled by the protests, especially the ‘Reclaim the Night’ campaign. He added that as the appeal of ‘Navanna Abhiyan’ by a non-political student community is gaining momentum, it has certainly raised Mamata Banerjee’s blood pressure.
Accusing Mamata Banerjee and the West Bengal Police of trying to suppress the protest marches, Adhikari said that the ‘Mamata Police’ has now resorted to the unethical way of spreading gossip and rumor-mongering through social media.
The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Adhikari added, “Fake Facebook profiles are being created through Civic Volunteers under police stations of every districts (sic). These fake Facebook profiles are being accumulated to spread false news about the ‘Nabanna Abhiyaan’ on August 27.”
Adhikari stressed that fake Facebook profiles are being created and URLs of toolkits are being sent to these profiles to spread fabricated posts to create confusion about ‘Navanna Abhijaan’ and demoralize the students.
The post further stated, “Along with this, URLs of Toolkits designed for this specific purpose are being sent to these fake Facebook profile handlers to spread the pre-created false posts to create confusion about ‘Navanna Abhijaan’ and demoralize the students.”
While noting that the use of ‘toolkits’ is not unprecedented throughout the world, Adhikari emphasised, “This would be a first time, when a Govt would be trying to destabilize a spontaneous Public movement by spreading fake news through ‘toolkit’ and fake social media profiles.”
He urged the students and civil society members to not get misled by fake news and to continue to demand justice for the deceased female trainee doctor. He has also listed some FB profiles which according to him, have been created by the local police for this purpose.
Further in the long post, Adhikari stated, “I have attached the list of fake Facebook profiles created by the Police in Purba Medinipur District (as a sample) to expose the conspiracy. I have the list of each district, if required I will publish it later.”
Cont'd pic.twitter.com/vpYTIcXZWB
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) August 24, 2024
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— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) August 24, 2024
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— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) August 24, 2024
The BJP leader asserted that subordinate level Police officials are fed up with her anti-public activities and they also want Justice for the RG Kar Hospital victim as they also have daughters at their homes.
He concluded by saying, “Mamata Banerjee, it’s time you realize that a large section of the subordinate level Police officials are no longer on your side. They are also fed up with your anti-public activities. They also have daughters at home, they also want justice.”
Mamata Banerjee government facing public ire over the handling of trainee doctor’s rape and murder case
The rape and murder case of the 31-year-old trainee female doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital has sparked nationwide protests to seek justice for the deceased victim. Hospital administration, Police, and the West Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee have been facing massive public ire over the initial handling of the case and the subsequent ‘transfer’ of the controversial Hospital principal, Sandip Ghosh. Both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court made several scathing remarks about the developments in the case, particularly ones revolving around Sandip Ghosh. During the last hearing, the Supreme Court reacted firmly to the apprehensions and allegations that the state administration was suppressing protests demanding Justice for the trainee doctor. The apex court categorically asked the Mamata Banerjee government to “not unleash its power on peaceful protesters“.
