TMC & BJP trade barbs as ‘Aparajita Bill’ row resurfaces

Kolkata: A fresh political slugfest erupted on Monday after the alleged gangrape of a medical student in Durgapur, as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and BJP locked horns over the fate of the stalled Aparajita Bill, the Mamata Banerjee government’s proposed law to toughen punishment for crimes against women.

The Aparajita Bill was passed unanimously in a special Assembly session in September 2024, in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The legislation was introduced after the brutal rape and murder of a young doctor at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College on August 8 last year, an incident that had triggered massive protests under the ‘Reclaim the Night’ movement and forced the state government to promise sweeping legal reforms. While the BJP accused her government of “completely failing” to ensure women’s safety in the state, the ruling TMC hit back, blaming the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for “sitting” on the Aparajita Bill and preventing it from becoming law.

The Durgapur woman, a medical student originally from Odisha, was allegedly gang-raped near the college campus in the industrial township on the night of October 10. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday condemned the alleged gangrape of a 23-year-old medical student from Odisha in Durgapur and assured that “no one will be spared”.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s office posted an appeal on social media urging Mamata Banerjee to ensure “exemplary punishment” for the culprits.

The TMC leadership reignited the debate over the Aparajita (Women and Child Protection) Bill, 2025, pointing out that it could have served as a stronger deterrent, if only the Centre had not stalled it.

“Our government did its duty. We passed the Aparajita Bill in the Assembly with all-party consensus even though the BJP supported it then. But the Centre and the Governor have turned it into a hostage of politics,” TMC leader Arup Chakraborty told a news agency.

The Bill, named after the Bengali word for ‘unconquered woman’, proposed stricter punishment, including death penalty and life imprisonment without remission, for heinous crimes such as rape and murder of women and children.

However, the legislation hit a constitutional roadblock after Governor CV Ananda Bose forwarded it to President Droupadi Murmu for assent.

In July this year, the Centre sent the Bill back to Raj Bhavan seeking clarifications, which were then relayed to the state government.With Agency Inputs