BJP Demands Mamata Banerjee’s Resignation Over Kolkata Student Gangrape Despite Woman CM Leadership
A Tragedy That Shook the State – The Kasba Incident
On a rainy night in the Kasba locality of Kolkata, a young college student’s life changed forever. What began as a routine evening ended in unthinkable trauma—a gangrape that shocked the conscience of the city. Within hours, the case evolved from a local tragedy to a national talking point. Political parties, civil society, and ordinary citizens erupted in anger. But amid grief and outrage, a chilling question arose: In a state led by a woman Chief Minister, how could such brutality still occur?
As the news spread across media platforms, the Kolkata Police moved swiftly—arresting three accused individuals within 48 hours. However, for many, this wasn’t enough. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seizing the moment, demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, holding her morally and administratively responsible for the incident.
Their argument was laced with symbolism and political calculation. “What’s the point of having a woman CM,” asked one BJP leader at a press conference, “if women in her own capital are unsafe?”
This statement sparked fierce debates—not only in political circles but across society. Is it fair to hold one leader responsible for a complex social crime? Or is this accountability long overdue in a state where incidents of violence against women have periodically made headlines
Law and Order vs. Political Accountability – The Ethical Debate
The BJP’s demand for Mamata Banerjee’s resignation has split public opinion. On one side are those who argue that the Chief Minister, regardless of gender, must take full responsibility for law and order in her state. For this camp, the Kasba gangrape is a symptom of systemic failures—failures that include lax policing, delayed justice, and the silencing of survivors.
Opponents of Mamata Banerjee point out that this isn’t an isolated case. They cite previous incidents—such as the Nadia minor rape and the Basirhat assault—to suggest a pattern of administrative indifference and weak institutional response. BJP leaders have argued that these events reflect a governance deficit, not just moral decay.
But others argue that the BJP is weaponizing a woman’s trauma to score political points. Women’s rights activists have slammed the rhetoric, stating that sexual violence is a national crisis—not a party-specific or state-specific one. “Would you ask a male CM to resign every time there’s a rape in his state?” asked one activist during a panel discussion.
The debate strikes at the heart of a deeper tension in Indian democracy: Where does governance end and accountability begin?
Bengal’s Political Battlefield – How the Incident Is Being Used by All Sides
In West Bengal, politics has always carried a fever pitch intensity—marked by ideological combat, grassroots mobilization, and deeply personal leadership rivalries. The Kasba gangrape tragedy has now become yet another flashpoint in the longstanding war between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—with the victim’s trauma caught in the middle.
BJP’s Calculated Offensive
For the BJP, the timing of the incident aligns with its broader strategic goals. As the party prepares for upcoming municipal and Lok Sabha elections in the state, it is leveraging every opportunity to dent Mamata Banerjee’s image as a guardian of Bengal’s cultural and civil liberties.
The BJP’s narrative is not just about the crime—it’s about the symbolism of failure. “Didi claims to be the daughter of Bengal,” said a BJP MLA in a recent assembly session, “but where is her daughterly protection when Bengal’s real daughters are attacked?”
Rallies were organized in Kolkata, Siliguri, and Asansol with the slogan “Nari Suraksha Ke Naam Pe Dhoka” (A betrayal in the name of women’s safety). Pamphlets with the victim’s anonymized story were circulated, and a media campaign was launched painting the state as unsafe for women under TMC rule.
Even PM Modi, in a rally in Odisha, referenced “the shame in Bengal” without naming the incident—clearly signaling a coordinated national-level messaging play.
TMC’s Counter-Narrative: Law Is Taking Its Course
On the other side, Mamata Banerjee’s party has struck back—accusing the BJP of politicizing rape for electoral gain. TMC leaders emphasize the swift police action, the registration of FIR, and the arrest of all suspects within 48 hours. “We are not like BJP-ruled states where survivors wait for weeks to get justice,” said TMC MP Mahua Moitra in a fiery television debate.
Mamata Banerjee has been relatively measured in her response, issuing a statement promising “uncompromised justice” and visiting the girl’s family away from cameras. But internally, party strategists worry about the optics. The state’s history of such incidents—each time followed by promises and committees—makes it harder to convince voters that this time will be different.
The TMC has also accused the BJP of ignoring incidents in its own states. “What about Hathras? What about Unnao? Were those not failures of government?” asked another spokesperson.
The political blame game, while predictable, has overshadowed the most important question: What is actually being done to prevent such crimes?
Civil Society in the Crossfire
Caught in the ideological crossfire is West Bengal’s vibrant civil society. Student groups from Jadavpur and Presidency Universities have taken to the streets, demanding gender-sensitive policing, better night-time surveillance, and more accountability from elected officials.
Women’s rights organizations have called for reforms—not resignations. Their message is clear: structural changes matter more than symbolic gestures. “Resignations don’t protect the next girl,” said a representative from a Kolkata-based NGO. “What we need is a complete overhaul of how sexual violence is responded to—at the police station, in hospitals, in courtrooms.
In the annals of Indian political discourse, the image of a woman chief minister is often celebrated as a sign of progress—a beacon of gender empowerment in a traditionally patriarchal system. Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal’s firebrand leader and the first woman to hold the post in the state, has long positioned herself as a protector of the marginalized, especially women. But the Kasba gangrape case has forced a deeply uncomfortable question: What happens when the very symbol of empowerment is called out for systemic failures on women’s safety?
Symbolism vs. Structural Reform
Mamata Banerjee’s ascent to power was hailed as a momentous shift in Bengal’s political fabric. She was not just a change in leadership; she was a break from male-dominated power structures. Her image—of wearing simple cotton sarees, walking amidst crowds, and resisting authority—helped her cultivate an aura of moral leadership.
But in recent years, critics argue that this symbolism has not translated into institutional transformation. While the TMC has implemented schemes such as Kanyashree and Rupashree for girls’ education and marriage support, critics argue these programs have done little to tackle violence against women or reform a broken justice system.
The Kasba incident brings this gap into sharp relief. Despite the optics of female leadership, police apathy, poor infrastructure, and delayed legal action remain rampant. In this sense, Banerjee finds herself in a paradox—expected to protect women not only as an administrator but also as a female role model.
The Double Standard in Accountability
There is also a broader gendered dynamic at play. Would calls for resignation be this loud if the Chief Minister were a man? Many believe the bar for women in power is unfairly higher, particularly when they are seen to have failed in their expected roles of moral guardianship.
Feminist scholars point out that while accountability is essential, it must not become gendered scapegoating. “Yes, Mamata must answer for policing and law enforcement failures,” said Dr. Ishita Ghosh, a political sociologist. “But to reduce this tragedy to a referendum on her gender is reductive. Misogyny exists even in our expectations of leadership.”
Others argue that this scrutiny is a necessary reckoning—that women in power cannot be immune from critique, especially when they brand themselves as change-makers for gender justice.
Leadership in Crisis: Banerjee’s Dilemma
Internally, sources suggest Mamata Banerjee is torn between standing her ground and launching a visible administrative overhaul. Her public response has been careful—firm but devoid of the emotional tone she has often used in the past during crises. Perhaps that’s intentional. Any sign of vulnerability could be seen as weakness; any overt aggression could backfire politically.
Party insiders say she has ordered a review of night policing, patrol patterns in university zones, and the functioning of women’s helplines. But opposition leaders question the timing: “Why now? Shouldn’t this have been done long ago?”
In the court of public opinion, the challenge for Mamata Banerjee is no longer just about managing perception. It is about delivering results that restore faith—not just in her government, but in the promise of women’s leadership itself.
Beyond the noise of political blame games and symbolic leadership lies a hard truth: the Kasba gangrape is not an isolated incident, but the latest in a series of structural failures that expose deep vulnerabilities in the law-and-order framework of West Bengal’s capital. To reduce this tragedy to political scandal is to miss the forest for the trees. The real problem lies deeper—in broken systems, outdated policing models, underfunded safety nets, and a criminal justice process that often works against survivors.
Urban Shadows: Unsafe Public Spaces in Kolkata
Kolkata, like many Indian metros, presents a paradox—cosmopolitan on the surface, but with urban pockets that remain poorly lit, under-patrolled, and deeply unsafe for women. The Kasba neighborhood, though residential and busy by day, becomes a patchwork of shadows by night. Civic infrastructure—streetlights, CCTV coverage, night-time transport, and patrolling—remains uneven at best.
According to a 2024 report by a Kolkata-based urban research NGO, 63% of women surveyed avoided public transport or walking alone after 8 PM, citing fear of harassment or assault. Areas like Kasba, Behala, Garia, and parts of North Kolkata were repeatedly flagged as “vulnerability zones.”
The young woman in the Kasba case had been returning from a coaching class—doing what countless students in India do every evening. That her journey ended in trauma is not a failure of personal precaution, but a systemic failure of urban planning and safety assurance.
Policing Gaps: More Men with Guns, or Gender-Sensitive Training?
While the Kolkata Police have arrested the accused, public anger has simmered over questions of preventive policing. Why wasn’t the area better patrolled? Why did multiple residents report a pattern of harassment near that stretch, yet no action was taken? These are not new questions—and yet, they remain unanswered.
West Bengal has one of the lowest police-to-citizen ratios in urban areas among major Indian states. Compounding the shortage is a lack of gender-sensitization. Experts note that many police stations still treat survivors of sexual violence with suspicion, hostility, or paternalism. Filing an FIR remains a battle, let alone securing medical and psychological support.
In the Kasba case, the FIR was filed swiftly—but only after media outrage. Would the same urgency have been seen if the case hadn’t exploded on Twitter?
Judicial Bottlenecks: Delayed Justice as Everyday Reality
Beyond policing lies the judicial bottleneck—the final blow in the triad of systemic failure. Cases of sexual violence in India often take years to reach trial, and convictions are rare. According to NCRB data, as of 2023, the conviction rate in rape cases across India stood at just over 30%, with thousands of cases pending.
Victims and families often abandon legal pursuit midway—either due to exhaustion, stigma, or intimidation. In West Bengal alone, over 11,000 cases of sexual violence were pending trial at the end of 2024.
Activists working with survivors say the system offers neither protection nor empathy. “Courts delay, police dismiss, and society blames,” said a counselor with a Kolkata-based women’s crisis center. “The survivor fights on every front.”
The Need for Comprehensive Reform
The Kasba tragedy has reignited calls for systemic change. Among the top demands from civil society:
- Increased night patrolling in vulnerable zones
- Fast-track courts for crimes against women
- Mandatory gender-sensitization training for police
- Public surveillance improvements (CCTV, lighting, SOS buttons)
- Psychosocial support teams integrated with police responses
- Educational programs on consent and gender equality in schools and colleges
While Mamata Banerjee’s government has announced a review of urban security protocols, activists argue that reviews are not enough. Structural change must replace temporary damage control.
Also Read : Alleged Gang Rape in Kolkata’s Kasba Triggers Outrage; Three Suspects Arrested
