West Bengal turning into 'soft state', women unsafe: State Governor C V Ananda Bose

According to Bose, a "soft state" is a state "where the laws exist, but enforcement is weak".

Kolkata: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose expressed serious concern over the recent sexual assault of students and asserted that these incidents point to a "deepening law and order crisis" and an "atmosphere of fear that is rendering the state increasingly unsafe for women".

In an interview with PTI at the Raj Bhavan here, Bose also claimed that Bengal was "consistently showing the symptoms of a soft state" and cautioned that unless corrective measures are taken, the "prevailing fear psychosis will intensify, not just among women, but across society".

According to him, a "soft state" is a state "where the laws exist, but enforcement is weak".

"This does not augur well for any civil society, especially in a democracy... In view of the series of ghastly incidents taking place one after another, anyone would come to the conclusion that West Bengal is not a safe place for women," Bose said.

His comment comes after a second-year student of a private medical college in Durgapur was allegedly gang-raped on the night of October 10 when she went outside the institute campus with a male friend for dinner.

The student hails from Jaleswar in Odisha's Balasore district.

Six people, including the male friend, have been arrested so far in connection with the alleged crime.

A first-year student was gang-raped on the campus of South Calcutta Law College in June. The college authorities terminated the services of the prime accused and expelled two other students arrested in connection with the crime.

The governor urged the authorities to "take stock of the situation and gear up to meet the exigencies".

Bose was speaking to PTI after returning from Durgapur, where he met the medical student and her parents.

On Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's advice to colleges not to allow girls to go outside at night, Bose said, "Society should be restructured in such a way that women, particularly girls, can move about freely, at any time, any day. But I do not want to politicise what my esteemed constitutional colleague has said." Banerjee had said that she was shocked to hear about the Durgapur incident and urged private medical colleges to take care of their students, especially girls.

"The girls should not be allowed to go outside at night," she had said.

The governor said, "The governments may come and go, but law and order is something on which no compromise is permitted. As per the Constitution of India, maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the state government." He also raised concerns over the alleged politicisation of the police.

"The primary duty of the police is to ensure that law and order are maintained. But, unfortunately, in Bengal, a section of the police, not all of them, is corrupt, politicised and criminalised. This has to be weeded out, and that is the responsibility of the government in power," Bose asserted.

The governor also emphasised that police must remain impartial and "not act as 'His Master's Voice' of the ruling political executive".

"The police had to be neutral and go by the rule of law. But there is decadence in the administrative set-up of the state. And what we see is systemic failure, which is happening particularly in the policing of the state," he claimed.

Bose alleged that "goondaraj" (lawlessness) was prevalent in certain areas.

"In some of the villages in Bengal, which I had visited during the panchayat and last Lok Sabha elections, there is 'goonda raj', which has not been prevented by the police," the governor claimed.

Asked about the recent assault of BJP MP from Maldah Uttar (North), Khagen Murmu, and Siliguri MLA Sankar Ghosh, Bose said, "I would not like to make any general comment as the governor. But the attack of the MP, elected representative, especially when he belongs to the Scheduled Tribe community, is an attack on democracy. It is an attack by mobocracy." It is something that does not bring credit to anybody down the line, he said, adding that society is "degenerating into mobocracy and this has to be prevented".

Responding to questions about the Constitution being "under threat" in Bengal, he said, "Right to life is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. With increasing crime, this right is not protected, which is a threat not only to individual safety but to the Constitution itself." Talking about last year's rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Bose said he was "deeply pained and shocked" by the lack of prompt action.

"We have to act instead of giving an alibi for inaction. Bengal expects the government and everybody to do their duty," he said.

The governor called for collective responsibility and urged all stakeholders to come together and ensure that Bengal is made a place where "people can live safely, with dignity and without fear".