Union Min ‘Sukanta Majumdar is a habitual offender’: TMC decries Sukanta’s comparison of Bengal’s law & order to Sonagachi

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday strongly condemned BJP state president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar’s controversial statement where he compared the law and order situation in Bengal to the sex workers of Sonagachi. This comment sparked widespread outrage in various sections of society and also from the red-light area community. Majumdar was detained on Friday in Bhawanipore while trying to meet an NRI doctor Dr Rajat Subhra Banerjee at his residence who had earlier protested during Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Kellogg College in the United Kingdom.

During his detention, Majumdar allegedly used offensive language, comparing the state’s law and order situation to the sex workers. One of the founding members of ‘Amra Padatik’, a social group formed by the children of sex workers, also demanded an apology from Majumdar and strongly condemned the remark. He said: “Is Sonagachi a bad place? Are the people here monsters or aliens? These words from a politician are completely unacceptable. We are human too. Sonagachi is not a place to be used as a derogatory example for law and order. We are planning a large protest against this.” Senior Trinamool Congress leader and state minister Sashi Panja said: “The Bengal BJP calls him a professor? His remarks are disgusting, disgraceful, and deeply disappointing. He equated law and order with Sonagachi’s sex workers, which is humiliating for them. We stand in solidarity with the sex workers, who have been insulted.”

TMC MP Sagarika Ghose said: “Shocking and disgusting language from a BJP Union minister, though sadly, foul-mouthed leaders are nothing new for the BJP.” Reacting to the incident, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh added: “Sukanta Majumdar is a habitual offender when it comes to foul statements. He has insulted the sex workers of Sonagachi and demeaned them through a political comparison. This comment stems from their inherent hatred towards sex workers, sisters, and daughters. We strongly oppose this insult. Sex workers are human beings too — they live through struggles and hardships. It’s a profession, but they have humanity, dignity, and rights.”