- Campaigning in West Bengal, BJP's Smriti Irani called the election a referendum on violence and fear
- BJP nominated Ratna Debnath, mother of the RG Kar victim, from Panihati as a symbol of justice
- Irani alleged Trinamool Congress intimidated Debnath and politicised the RG Kar case
Campaigning in West Bengal, BJP leader Smriti Irani told NDTV the assembly election will be a referendum on violence, fear, and institutional breakdown in the state run by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party, the Trinamool Congress.
Irani launched a strong attack on the Mamata government's record on women's safety and governance, in the context of the BJP's decision to nominate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the young woman who was raped and killed in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Debnath will contest from the Panihati assembly constituency.
"To say that the nomination of Ratna Debnath is politically motivated is to reduce her genuine trauma," Irani told NDTV. She denied the move was aimed at the women vote-bank that has largely remained with the ruling Trinamool Congress.
"This is a woman who wanted to fight for justice, not only for her daughter, but genuinely wants to see the Trinamool government uprooted from the state," Irani said.
The BJP leader said the nomination is also an assertion of democratic choice rather than a political symbol. "It is her democratic right to exercise her right as a candidate apart from being a voter," Irani said, adding she was "grateful" the BJP had given her that opportunity.
Irani alleged continuing intimidation even after the candidature was announced. "After her declaration as a candidate of the BJP, Trinamool goons on the streets of our constituency not only humiliated her, but also accused her of using her daughter's case for politics," she said.
"There is no mother on the planet who would lose their child, who would see their child gang-raped or raped so that they can contest an election," Irani said. Calling the Trinamool's attacks on Ratna Debnath "inhuman," the BJP leader said the new candidate now stood "as a symbol for the fight of every mother in West Bengal for justice."
Irani alleged it was on the contrary the ruling party in Bengal that politicised the RG Kar case. "They see no fault of a chief minister who goes and stands in support of those who have said bad things about such a mother." Irani then cited Banerjee's remarks that "no girl should come out after sunset", alluding that violence against women was an "everyday occurrence."
"The chief minister keeps quiet while Trinamool goonda raj ensures brutality through the party office in Sandeshkhali," Irani said, arguing that instead of "reflecting how fear and violence has been leveraged against the poorest of the poor," the state government had chosen to attack a victim's family.
On the timing of the Women's Reservation Bill in parliament during an election cycle, Irani dismissed the criticism as politically convenient. "The question earlier was why not then? The question now is, why now?" she said, pointing at the Opposition.
Irani called the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam "historical," arguing that the BJP had both legislated and practised women's inclusion. "If there is any political credit to be given... that credit very deservedly so gives to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP," she said, adding the BJP also mandated 33 per cent reservation for women within its own organisation.
On Bengal's electoral trajectory, Irani rejected claims that the BJP's momentum had peaked in 2021. "There is a time in the political history of Bengal where you said that it is impossible for BJP to even have one MLA," Irani said. "Now you are saying 77 won't suffice."
On the Bengali identity question invoked routinely by the Trinamool against leaders who arrive from outside the state, Irani told NDTV, "Who are these people from outside? I was born in this country. So am I from outside?"
She asked whether Bengalis living across India - in Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra, Delhi - were also outsiders in their own country. She took a swipe at Banerjee on the issue of illegal immigration. "She is the Chief Minister of Bengal, isn't she? She is not the Prime Minister of Bangladesh."
She said there is a clear difference between cultural identity and illegal immigration. "If an Indian wants that there are no illegal immigrants in our country, then isn't it the right of an ordinary Indian?" Irani said, and accused Banerjee of "siding with illegal immigrants and not Indians."
Voting for the two-phase Bengal election is on April 23 and 29. The first phase will have 152 constituencies and the second phase will have the remaining 142 seats. Counting is on May 4.
