A special two-day session of the West Bengal Assembly will commence on September 2 (Monday) to pass a Bill proposing capital punishment for convicts in rape and murder cases. The proposal to hold the special session was cleared at a meeting of the state committee on Wednesday (August 28) which was chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
“We will move a Bill within 10 days seeking capital punishment for culprits in rape and murder cases. We will send it to the Governor and if he doesn’t pass the Bill, we will sit on indefinite protest outside the Raj Bhavan. This Bill must be passed. The Governor cannot evade accountability this time. Why should rapists not be hanged,” said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while addressing the foundation day of her party’s students’ wing Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP).
The decision of the state government to move the bill comes at a time when the state administration is already under fire after the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. There have been allegations against the administration to hush up the matter.
CBI investigation in Kolkata doctor rape-murder case
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), following orders of the Calcutta High Court, is already conducting two parallel probes- the first being on the rape and murder case and the second being on the alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The CBI is currently investigating the case, and a Kolkata Police civic volunteer has been arrested in connection with the crime.
Proposal of bill in Bengal cabinet
The West Bengal cabinet on August 28 approved a proposal to introduce a new Bill aimed at preventing rape and ensuring stricter punishments for such crimes. Senior cabinet member and state Agriculture Minister Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay earlier said he would request Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay to convene a special two-day assembly session from September 2 (Monday).
"The proposed Bill will be tabled in the Assembly on September 3," Chattopadhyay said.
Bengal govt to amend existing laws to ensure death penalty to rapists: CM Mamata Banerjee
Asserting that her government has zero tolerance to incidents of rape, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said an amendment to existing laws will be passed in the state assembly next week to ensure capital punishment to convicted rapists.
Banerjee said that she would sit for dharna outside Raj Bhavan here if the governor delays in giving assent to the amended bill or forwards it to the President for ratification.
"We will pass the amended bill in a special session of the assembly next week. We will then send it to the governor for his nod. We will stage dharna outside Raj Bhavan if he sits on the bill," she thundered from the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad foundation day rally here.
The TMC supremo dedicated the foundation day to the memory of the medic who was allegedly raped and murdered inside state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital earlier this month, triggering a nationwide outcry. Banerjee also dedicated the occasion to the victims of atrocities and abuse across the country.
She also flagged the issue of the sexual misconduct allegations levelled by a former Raj Bhavan woman staffer and accused CV Ananda Bose of making false charges against her government and party. Banerjee also urged the agitating junior doctors of Bengal, who have struck work for 20 days now to urgently consider returning to duty.
"I have remained sympathetic towards the cause of the doctors from the very beginning since they were seeking justice for their colleague. We did not take any action against them although so many days have passed since the incident. We understand your pain. But please come back to work now since patients are suffering," she appealed.
The police recovered the body of the woman's postgraduate trainee doctor from the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The junior doctors of state-run hospitals have been on cease work since that evening, demanding justice for the victim and strong security measures in hospitals.
Banerjee added no FIR was lodged against any doctor so far as she does not want that a medic's career to plagued by police cases.
