Justice has still not been delivered to the family of the doctor gang-raped and murdered at the government-run RG Kar hospital in Kolkata in August 2024. The victim’s mother now stands as a BJP candidate for her constituency, Panihati, to get justice for her daughter. Ratna Debnath is confident about coming out in the open to create awareness of women’s safety and to hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
“There is misgovernance in West Bengal. There is no safety or respect for women. After an incident, women are told not to stay out late or work late; the person who says this is our Chief Minister, Home Minister, and Police Minister. My appeal is that people should be aware of their rights, which have been taken away,” said Ratna Debnath, who also appealed to the Abhaya protesters to stand by her in the same way to oust the Trinamool Congress (TMC) at the opportune moment.
“I want to tell the residents of Panihati that you will win; stand by me. It will be a victory for Panihati,” added Debnath.
For the BJP, Debnath’s candidature is a trump card against Mamata. The safety of women under the present regime, led by a woman, is being questioned by another woman, who is a powerful symbol. The BJP is also looking at Debnath campaigning in a few key constituencies to fight the TMC, which has a sizeable female vote bank, with several who swear by Mamata as a protector against demons. The BJP wants to break this image with its political fight and is hoping that Abhaya’s mother standing tall against Mamata in the latter’s constituency sends out the relevant message.
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“My appeal to Didi (Ratna Debnath) is to come to Bhabanipur one or two times after campaigning in Panihati, to raise her voice against the Police Minister, Health Minister, and Chief Minister, who is the TMC candidate there,” said Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari after visiting the victim’s mother on Thursday. Adhikari appealed to Debnath to bring up the issue of the alleged cover-up of the crime by the TMC and the CM.
The Bhabanipur BJP candidate also asked people who were on the streets for the Abhaya movement to come forward, support the victim’s mother, and stand for justice. “She is standing as a BJP candidate with the aim of bringing the perpetrators to book. I have faith that the educated people of Panihati will help her win by a huge margin, which Panihati has not witnessed since independence,” added Adhikari.
In the midst of this political move is an active member of the Abhaya movement, Kalatan Dasgupta, a Left Front leader contesting from the same constituency of Panihati. The Left too wants to send out a message of its fight for justice against the TMC government, riding on the Abhaya movement. But the victim’s mother is more concerned about justice for her daughter while standing up against the CM and her party. “He is like my son; he was part of the movement (Abhaya). I will not say anything,” said Debnath.
