Kolkata, Jun 29 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari led a rally on Sunday in protest against the alleged gang rape of a first-year student of a state-run law college in the city demanding security for every daughter across West Bengal.
Similar rallies were also taken out by Congress, CPI(M) and civil society members in the city and its outskirts.
Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and other party activists walked a distance of less than one km demanding protection for "our daughters".
"Unless Mamata Banerjee is thrown out of power, such incidents of abuses against women will continue to happen in Bengal. The CM had in the past cast aspersions on the characters of brutalised women instead of taking strong action against perpetrators," he said.
He said BJP youth wing activists have given a call for a rally to Kasba police station. "We will seek the nod of Calcutta High Court for organising the march up to Kasba police station," he said.
Adhikari told reporters that the rally to Kasba police station will be held on July 2 demanding security for women at their workplaces, at educational institutions, in public places and at home.
"Thousands will march towards Kasba police station from Park Street-J L Nehru crossing. The barbaric atrocities on a law college student has triggered the immediate call for this march. But this is not an isolated incident. We are protesting against the continuing atrocities against women for the past years - at R G Kar, Hanskhali, Kaliaganj, Kamduni, Park Street to name a few. In all these incidents the perpetrators were let away scot-free and the brutalities never stopped," the senior BJP leader said.
"We will not sit idle. There will be waves of protests till this Mamata Banerjee regime, which has been patronising criminals and abusers of women, is thrown out of power," he said.
Adhikari said the BJP will undertake a 'Nabanna Abhijan' (march to the state secretariat) on August 9 demanding security for women.
"August 9 is the day of the historic 'Quit India' movement. I will also request the parents of the raped-murdered R G Kar woman medic to join the march. Let us give the call to make the Mamata Banerjee government quit Nabanna in 2026," he said.
The Congress took out a rally in the Khidderpore area of the city on Sunday and BJP's youth wing members in the Hatibagan area alleging a worsening law and order situation in Bengal and demanding safety for every woman.
The CPIM's student and youth wings SFI and DYFI also took out a rally at Barasat in North 24 Parganas district on the same issue.
Members of civil society belonging to the 'Abhaya Manch', the platform to fight for justice for the R G Kar victim, demonstrated before the Kasba police station.
Social activist Rimjhim Sinha and writer-activist Satabdi Das, led the protesters mostly consisting of women demanding safety and security.
"The Abhaya manch also took out a rally from Gariahat to Hazra More demanding security for our daughters and sisters on Sunday evening. We are not obstructing movement of traffic, but there needs to be a spontaneous protest unless such predators are brought to book," Das said.
There was high drama as the rally, also participated by several left-leaning personalities of the Bengali film industry like Srilekha Mitra and Badshah Moitra, was stopped by police in front of Lake Mall as it did not have permission to go ahead.
The processionists had an argument with the police officials present but they did not relent.
They launched a sit-in before the Lake Mall and drew graffiti on the road.
"Nothing has changed after the barbaric assault and murder of 'Abhaya' at her workplace in R G Kar Hospital in August. Had action been taken in connection with the larger conspiracy angle in the R G Kar case, those involved in the barbaric assault at the law college campus would not be so belligerent and this incident would not have happened," Sinha said.
TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, "The party has zero tolerance for those who commit such barbarism on women. Police have already arrested four persons in connection with the incident."
State minister and senior TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya said, "The BJP is politicising the incident. Why they are silent on incidents of atrocities on women in Odisha, in many other BJP-ruled states and in Manipur."
The first-year student of South Calcutta Law College was raped allegedly by two senior students and an alumnus on June 25.