Law College Rape Case: One TMC leader apologises, another sparks fresh outrage

Indian Express

4 days ago

Even as TMC MLA Madan Mitra offered 'unconditional apology' to the party for his remarks on the law college rape case, TMC minister Manas Bhuiyan on Tuesday sparked fresh outrage purportedly calling the alleged rape of a the 24-year-old student a 'small incident'.
Speaking at a Doctor's Day blood donation camp in Kolkata, Bhuiyan said, 'No culprit of the Pahalgam incident has been arrested. Whenever a small incident happens in Bengal, controversy starts.'
He was referring to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in which 26 men, mostly tourists, were gunned down by terrorists. As the TMC leader's remarks went viral, Bhuiyan in a statement said that his words were taken out of context and that he 'strongly condemned' the law college rape incident.
Seizing on his 'small incident remark', state BJP president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said, 'One after another, TMC leaders are making such statements. It speaks volumes about their character.'
BJP's Jagannath Chattopadhyay called it 'a matter of shame,' while CPI(M) leader Shatarup Ghosh accused the TMC of shielding its workers, pointing out that the main suspects in the campus rape belong to the party's student wing.
The TMC, however, defended Bhuiyan, saying his comment was unrelated to the law college case and aimed at broader law-and-order debates.
'Bhuiyan's comments have been twisted and linked to the rape incident,' a TMC spokesperson said.
Clarifying his remark, Bhuiyan said, 'Our party and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee do not tolerate such crimes. I oppose and condemn the Kasba (rape) incident in the strongest terms. I would like to clarify that my previous comments were not related to the Kasba incident. They have been misrepresented and linked to the unfortunate incident in an attempt to malign and defame me. I reiterate – I strongly condemn this incident.'
Earlier on Monday evening, TMC MLA Madan Mitra offered 'unconditional apology' for his remarks on the rape case and said that he would abide by the leadership's decision.
In a brief reply to the party's show-cause notice ahead of the end of the three-day deadline offered to him, the senior TMC leader tried to 'explain the context' in which he made the controversial comments, sources in the TMC said.
'Mitra reiterated his loyalty to the party in his reply, stating that he is a loyal worker of the party and would abide by whatever the party decides. If his words tarnished the party's image in any way, he said he was sorry for that,' a party leader said.
Following the June 25 alleged rape of a 24-year-old law student on college campus in which a former TMC student leader is the prime accused, Mitra allegedly tried to blame the victim, saying the student 'should not have gone to college alone.' He further questioned why she went by herself, suggesting that the incident might have been avoided if she had not been unaccompanied.
The party, however, distanced itself from Mitra's comments. Within hours of his remarks, the TMC issued a statement clarifying that Madan Mitra's remarks were 'personal' and did not reflect the party's stance.
The following day, June 29, TMC state unit chief Subrata Bakshi issued a show-cause letter to Mitra, calling his remarks 'unwanted, unnecessary and insensitive'. Stating that the remarks 'hurt the image of our party in every way,' the party chief demanded an explanation from him within three days.
Since the alleged rape incident, there has been a string of contentious remarks made by TMC leaders, including Madan Mitra and MP Kalyan Banerjee. Banerjee had stirred controversy by saying, 'If a classmate rapes a classmate, who will provide security?' He clarified that he wanted to say the impossibility of police ensuring safety inside colleges.
Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics.
With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences.
Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More
Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal.
Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur.
He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More