Journalist-turned-Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose on Monday criticised the National Commission for Women (NCW), calling it the “BJP Mahila wing” and questioning the objectivity of the panel’s fact-finding visit to riot-hit areas in West Bengal.
“The @NCWIndia last seen in Sandeshkhali coercing women to sign blank sheets of paper on fake rape charges, is now in Malda/Murshidabad. More blank sheets of paper ahead?” Ghose wrote on X.
She was referring to the controversy surrounding the commission’s visit to Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas district last year, where local residents and TMC leaders had alleged that women were made to sign blank papers later used to file fabricated rape complaints against functionaries of Bengal’s ruling party.
The incident had sparked a major political row, with the ruling party accusing the NCW and BJP of orchestrating a campaign to malign the state government.
Referring to the political past of NCW member Archana Majumdar, Ghose alleged: “NCW Member Archana Majumdar stood as a @BJP4India candidate in 2021 Bengal Assembly polls and lost. Do we really expect an objective ‘report’ from BJP Mahila wing sorry @NCWIndia?”
She added: “NCW has long been a political wing of the BJP.”
In the accompanying video, Ghose said: “The National Commission for Women should be known as the Notorious Commission of White Papers.”
Her comments came a day after an NCW delegation led by chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar visited Betbona village in Murshidabad, where three people were killed and hundreds displaced in communal violence earlier this month.
Rahatkar, after interacting with victims, said she was “dumbfounded” by the women’s accounts and assured them that the Centre would take steps to ensure their safety.
NCW member Majumdar also said the commission would convey the women’s demands, including a call for permanent BSF camps, to Union home minister Amit Shah.
The visit has triggered a political row, with the Trinamool accusing the NCW of acting on behalf of the BJP and attempting to spread misinformation.
Earlier, TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Debangshu Bhattacharya also questioned the timing and intent of the visit, accusing the Centre of repeatedly sending politically motivated teams to Bengal.
The NCW delegation had also visited relief camps in Malda and the violence-hit Dhulian area of Murshidabad district.