Bengal to amend laws to ensure death penalty to rapists: Mamata
Kolkata, August 28
Asserting that her government has zero tolerance to incidents of rape, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday 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.
The chief minister said the TMC will launch a movement from Saturday at the state's grassroots to create pressure on the Centre to pass legislation for capital punishment of convicted rapists.
“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 CM said women will be at the forefront of the proposed dharna accompanied by “their brothers”.
She also flagged the issue of the sexual misconduct allegations levelled by a former Raj Bhavan woman staffer and accused C V 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.
