Locket slams TMC regime over Durgapur rape incident
The Statesman | 15 October 2025Speaking to reporters at the party’s Salt Lake office, Ms Chatterjee accused the Trinamul Congress government of shielding offenders and turning the state into a “safe haven for criminals under political protection.”
“The law and order situation in Bengal has collapsed because the government is busy protecting its own people,” she said. “Had the family of Abhaya (the RG Kar victim) received justice, the culprits in Durgapur would have thought twice before committing such a crime.”
Drawing a contrast between Bengal’s cultural reverence for women and the rising crimes against them, Ms Chatterjee remarked, “In a few days, people of Bengal will worship Goddess Kali and Goddess Lakshmi. Yet in this same land, women are being raped every day. Even after the RG Kar incident, the state did not wake up.”
She strongly criticised chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s earlier statement suggesting restrictions on women’s night duty following the RG Kar incident. “Imagine the mindset — the chief minister wants working women to stay indoors at night, while rapists roam free. In 2025, it is shameful that a woman chief minister can speak like this,” she said. The BJP leader drew comparisons with women serving in the armed forces. “While leaders like Bhumikā Singh and Sofia Qureshi are leading India’s military operations against Pakistan, Bengal is moving backward under this government,” she added.
Referring to reports that the Odisha government had taken full responsibility for the Durgapur victim’s treatment and education, Ms Chatterjee accused the Bengal chief minister of lacking empathy. “Mamata Banerjee didn’t even make a phone call to the victim’s family. That shows there is no humanity left in her,” she alleged.
She further claimed that the police and the administration were being used to protect ruling party leaders. “Mamata’s police are guarding the accused instead of ensuring justice. The entire system is being throttled to suppress the truth,” she said. Condemning the state government’s handling of women’s welfare, Ms Chatterjee said that schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar and Kanyashree were being used as political tools to suppress women rather than empower them. Concluding her statement, the BJP leader said, “We want to see the Bengal of Kadambini Ganguly, Pritilata Waddedar, Kalpana Dutta, Bina Das, and Matangini Hazra — not a Bengal where women live in fear.”
