MLA Dipak Haldar, who was elected from DiamondHarbour in Kolkata, while addressing the rise of crimes against women, said, “There was rape earlier, there is rape today. As long as the earth exists, there will be rape.
He later tried to explain that his intention was only to raise awareness. “Please let the journalists not take these comments out of context. Why did I say this? We don’t support rape... I said this because it is a social evil. It is not possible for Mamata Banerjee alone to solve it. It is not possible for me or anyone of us alone... all of you must take a collective decision and where such incidents happen, you must protest,” clarified Haldar.
However, the comment has ignited an outrage. Reacting to Haldar’s remark, Congress leader Manish Tewari said it was “extremely unfortunate” that such insensitive comments continued to be made. “The fact is that public representatives need to be not only restrained in their utterances but more importantly need to play a positive role in creating a climate where there is safety for women,” Tewari said.
Ritubrata Banerjee of Communist Party of India- Marxist said the statements are in “the line with what is happening in TMC itself”. “You cannot expect some action against these leaders,” she said.
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