Asserting that her government has zero tolerance for incidents of rape, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said an amendment to existing laws will be passed in the state assembly next week to ensure capital punishment to convicted rapists.
Speaking at the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad's foundation day rally in Kolkata, Banerjee said she would sit for dharna outside Raj Bhavan here if the governor delays in giving assent to the amended Bill or forwards it to the President for ratification.
Banerjee also urged the agitating junior doctors of Bengal, who are on cease-work for 20 days now to protest the alleged rape-murder of the RG Kar hospital medic, to urgently consider returning to duty and said she doesn't want to lodge FIRs against the striking doctors in consideration of their future careers.
The TMC supremo dedicated the foundation day to the memory of the medic who was allegedly raped and murdered inside state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital earlier this month, triggering a nationwide outcry.
Agitating doctors interpreted the chief minister's remark as a "veiled threat" and rejected her appeal to join work.
A member of the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Forum said they would not withdraw the agitation unless their demands for justice for the deceased and punishment for all responsible were met.
The chief minister also said the TMC will launch a movement from Saturday at the grassroots level to create pressure on the Centre to pass a legislation for capital punishment of convicted rapists.
"We will pass the amended Bill in a special session of the assembly next week. The Bill will have the death penalty for convicted rapists. We will then send it to the governor for his nod. We will stage dharna outside Raj Bhavan if he sits on the Bill," she said.
The CM said women will be at the forefront of the proposed dharna accompanied by "their brothers".
"I have remained sympathetic towards the cause of the doctors from the very beginning since they were seeking justice for their colleague. We did not take any action against them although so many days have passed since the incident. We understand your pain. But I urge them to return to work now since poor patients are suffering and they have nowhere to go," she appealed.
"The Supreme Court has empowered states to take actions against striking doctors. But we don't want to do that. That would cause damage to their careers," she added.
The police recovered the body of the woman's postgraduate trainee doctor from the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 prompting junior doctors of state-run hospitals to go on protest.
On Wednesday, the doctor's forum took out a protest march from the Shyambazar area in north Kolkata all the way up to Esplanade in the heart of the city.
"We are glad to know that the chief minister is supporting our cause. We want to return to work but that is not possible now as our demands are yet to be met," the member of the forum said.
The BJP, meanwhile, accused Banerjee of threatening opposition parties by abandoning her previous slogan of 'badla noy, badal chai' (no revenge, only change) in response to alleged insults from the Opposition.
At the TMCP rally, Banerjee remarked that the slogan needed to be updated to reflect changing times and situations.
"The time has come to resist and protest when you are insulted. When faced with ugly attacks, do not take it lying down. How you respond is up to you," she said.
In response, BJP state president and Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar condemned Banerjee's remarks as "unprecedented and threatening" and shot off a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah stating that Banerjee "no longer deserves to hold such an important position".
"It is unthinkable and unprecedented for a chief minister, who is constitutionally bound to rise above partisan attitudes, to make such intimidating statements that pose a threat to democracy," Majumdar told reporters.
The chief minister, on the other hand, targeted the CBI for its "delay" in delivering investigation results.
"Sixteen days have passed since the CBI took over the RG Kar probe from the Kolkata Police. Where is the justice? We want the CBI to come up with investigation updates," she said.
Denouncing the BJP for calling a 12-hour general strike on Wednesday, Banerjee said, "They called the bandh since they wanted political dividends over a dead body. The BJP is trying to exploit the emotions of ordinary people in the wake of the death of the young woman. They want to malign Bengal and plotted a conspiracy to derail the probe into her death."
"If Bengal is set on fire, Assam, northeast, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Delhi will also be affected," the TMC chief said.
Majumdar retorted by describing this as contrary to the federal spirit of the republic.
"It is unthinkable for an elected Chief Minister to make such a comment. How can she say such things?" he questioned.
Speaking at the TMCP rally, the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee demanded enactment of stricter anti-rape laws by the Centre and said he will move a private member's Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Abhishek said if the Centre failed to enact a stricter law that would ensure quick trial and sentencing of those found guilty, he will lead protests in Delhi.
He added that the TMC will take to the streets if the Centre does not enact a new law to ensure a time-bound trial and sentencing of the accused found guilty of rape charges
