Mamata's 'fire' remark may foment unrest, agencies should track her meetings: Bengal BJP chief Majumdar

Kolkata: The BJP's West Bengal unit president Sukanta Majumdar on Friday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "fire" comment has the potential to foment unrest in the various states.

Central agencies should keep a tab on the meetings attended by Banerjee to check whom she is interacting with, said Majumdar, also a Union minister.

Addressing a TMC students' wing rally in Kolkata on Wednesday, Banerjee said, "If Bengal is set on fire, Assam, northeast, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Delhi will also be affected."

"Don't you (Mamata Banerjee) believe that your comment can stir unrest in neighbouring states? You seem to speak in the voice of certain disruptive forces active in the neighbouring country," Majumdar said.

"Central agencies should keep a tab on her programmes to check whom she is meeting," the union minister said.

He was speaking at a sit-in to press for the demand of resignation of Banerjee in the wake of the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital here three weeks ago.

Majumdar also criticised TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for claiming that while protests were underway over the rape at RG Kar hospital, 900 more such cases happened in the country.

"Abhishek Banerjee has missed the most important point. Incidents of rape and gender abuse might have taken place in different parts in past, but in the case of RG Kar hospital, she was on duty in a state-run hospital. It is shocking, unprecedented, unimaginable."

"So please don't confuse the R G Kar incident with those of crime against women elsewhere. It is a matter of shame that such an incident took place in our city, in our state," he said.

Asserting that the BJP will do everything possible to bring justice to the deceased doctor, he said that the party would support protests by ordinary citizens against the alleged effort of the administration to destroy evidence and shield culprits.

"We won't take the frontal lead in such movements but will stand by the people of Bengal... The incident is a pointer to the fact that law and order has collapsed in the state," Majumdar said.

He claimed the demands by the TMC for capital punishment of rapists are meant for public consumption in the face of the swelling anger of the people after the R G Kar incident as rapists and molesters in the state had not been punished in the past.

After getting court permission, BJP launched the sit-in at Esplanade for six days from August 29.