Delhi CM Rekha Gupta
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday hit out at her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, saying her advice after the alleged gangrape of a medical student that female boarders must not venture out at night, was deplorable and represents the height of political downfall.
Banerjee's remarks reflect a "failed administration" and "morally hollow leadership" of the Trinamool Congress government, Gupta said in an X post in Hindi.
She said that instead of ensuring justice for the rape victim, the West Bengal government was "shamelessly" questioning the "very freedom and rights of women".
A state's leader is expected to guarantee the safety and dignity of women, not impose a tyrannical restriction on their independence, Gupta said.
"After the heinous incident in Durgapur, the statement made by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding the freedom of daughters is not only deplorable but also represents the height of political downfall," the Delhi chief minister wrote.
In Banerjee's Bengal, criminals protected by those in power roam freely, while the voices of victims seeking justice are ruthlessly suppressed, she alleged.
"West Bengal continues to rank among the top states in the country for heinous crimes against women, where shielding the guilty has become the hallmark of governance. This is the same Bengal where Goddess Durga and Kali are worshipped. Yet today, their daughters are being forced to live under the shadow of fear, injustice and lawlessness," she added.
On Friday night, a second-year student of a private medical college in Durgapur, who hailed from Odisha, was gang-raped outside the campus when she went out for dinner with a friend. The 23-year-old student is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Durgapur.
"She was studying in a private medical college. Whose responsibility is it? How did she come out at 12.30 at night? Students staying in hostels, especially those who have come to West Bengal to study from outside, are expected to follow the hostel rules. They should avoid venturing out late at night, although they have the fundamental right to go wherever they want," Banerjee said while talking to reporters at Kolkata airport after the incident.
However, she later said that her words were "deliberately distorted and taken out of context".