Bill a bid to deflect attention, says BJP after supporting it
Times of India | 4 September 2024
Kolkata: Bengal BJP on Tuesday termed the Aparajita Bill a “diversionary tactic” to take attention away from protests on the RG Kar rape-murder. The party, which had proposed seven amendments to the bill, supported it in the assembly leading to its unanimous passage.
State leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari said: “The failure to provide security, as exposed by the incident where a post graduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered in a govt hospital, is being covered up.This bill is nothing more than an attempt to distract from that failure.”
“BNS includes stringent measures for dealing with cases of rape and molestation. For instance, the death penalty is prescribed for cases where rape is followed by murder. Four accused in the Nirbhaya case were sentenced to death (under IPC). Therefore, the bill introduced by state govt in the legislative assembly is merely an attempt to divert attention and to stop agitation,” he added.
Adhikari said the Aug 9 crime had united people in protest, irrespective of political affiliation. “In fact, the entire nation is protesting. Even Pakistani doctors condemned the incident,” he said.
The BJP neta said the junior doctors had been demanding to meet the Kolkata police commissioner, and wondered why the top cop did not do so. “This is an example of audacity. We heard what ex-CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said in 2006 — we are 235. One should remember figures in the assembly are not the last word, it is the people who are ultimate,” Adhikari said.
Adhikari said though the bill had been introduced in haste and it was not referred to the select committee, BJP was still supporting it and did not raise any objection over not following proper parliamentary procedure.