Political Blame Game Escalates Over RG Kar Rape-Murder as Mamata Faces Mounting Pressure

BJP launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whom they held responsible for mishandling the RG Kar rape-murder case. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia charged Banerjee with obstructing justice and tampering with evidence in a news conference, demanding her immediate resignation. “The chief minister has broken the dignity of a woman, a doctor who was serving society. She is the destroyer of the rule of law and evidence, which is important to ensure that the accused get the desired punishment,” Bhatia said.

This political firestorm is in the middle of growing public outrage over the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The BJP has described Banerjee’s decision to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation as a “delayed tactic” and accused her of stalling the process to shield her administration. “Why did she hesitate in transferring the case to the CBI? Did the state government take time to tamper with the evidence? ” Bhatia asked.

He also attacked the initial theory floated by the Kolkata Police that termed the death a case of suicide, wondering whether this was a deliberate attempt to mislead the probe. Banerjee’s TMC, on its part, has raised questions over the role of the CBI, accusing the central agency of being conspicuously slow in advancing the probe. TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose expressed exasperation that there has been no word from the CBI in the case since it was handed over to them on August 14. “It has been five days, and there has not been a single word from the CBI.

The only arrest made was by the Kolkata Police, and the CBI hasn’t even summoned suspects for questioning,” Ghose said in a video statement released by NDTV.

The TMC has accused the CBI of deliberately trying to procrastinate the investigation. Ghose charged that the agency is being ‘passive’ so that the BJP can ‘play political football’ over the case. “What is the CBI doing? Is their inaction an attempt to keep BJP’s false narrative alive? Why isn’t the Opposition holding the CBI accountable?” Ghose asked, as political tension over the case mounted.

While the probe remains in abeyance, CBI sources confirmed that they have finally got the nod to conduct a polygraph test on the accused arrested by the Kolkata Police. But for many, all this has done little to quell the outrage or address the glaring lack of progress.

Banerjee, who has come out openly to support the protests by medical professionals after the attack, gave an ultimatum to the CBI to make some headway into the probe by Sunday. She said the state will ensure justice for the victim and punishment for the culprits. But with the political climate getting more and more heated up, the RG Kar case was going to be not only a rallying point for the law and order crisis of the state but also a struggle for political power. With days passing and little movement in the investigation, both sides seem to be embroiled in a heightened rhetorical state of accusing each other of political manipulation in the wake of the shooting. How long it eventually takes to resolve the case, or if it ever does, will determine whether this incident may be used as fuel for political unrest going forward.