Why is PM & Home min silent on Bagda rape: TMC

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders demanded a statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah in connection to the incident, in which two BSF personnel were arrested for their involvement in the alleged rape of a woman in front of her five-year-old daughter in Bagda in North 24-Parganas on Friday night.

A TMC delegation, comprising Shashi Panja, state minister for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Kunal Ghosh, state general secretary of TMC, and Mamata Bala Thakur, former TMC MP, visited Bagda on Sunday afternoon and talked to the villagers. The leaders assured them that they would always be by their side and demanded stringent action against the accused.

Sharing pictures of the TMC delegation at Bagda, the party tweeted: "Glimpses from today's visit to Bagda. AITC delegation is in Bagda to stand beside the young woman and her family. WE DEMAND JUSTICE." Addressing a gathering, Shashi Panja said it was most unfortunate that the state BJP leaders were silent over the issue. "Even, the Prime Minister and Home minister are silent. The PM had talked about respect for women during his speech to the nation on August 15 and now when such a gruesome incident has taken place, he is silent. This is BJP's nature. Women are not safe in BJP-ruled states," she maintained. She urged the villagers not to get scared and protest against the wrongdoings of the BSF personnel. "If someone is caught while crossing the Indo- Bangladesh border, there are laws to punish the accused but that does not mean that the BSF personnel will allegedly rape her," she said the matter would be raised in the proper forum. Kunal Ghosh said the villagers used to respect the BSF personnel, but the BJP had lowered the prestige and neutrality of these central agencies, which are being used for political vendetta. Local Trinamool leaders and Panchayat members were present at the meeting.