The Bengal BJP’s Nabanna Abhijaan did not see a spectacular turnout on Saturday, but the saffron camp is hoping it reignites protests against the rape and murder of the RG Kar junior doctor at a time when the ruling Trinamool is pushing the “Bengali persecution” narrative against Narendra Modi’s party.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who “apolitically” took the lead in organising the march headed by the parents of the victim — the doctor raped and murdered on August 9 last year — threatened to continue the movement against chief minister Mamata Banerjee and police.
The police allegedly beat up the victim’s mother and some others during the march.
Before visiting the hospital where the victim’s mother was admitted with a head injury, Adhikari said: “This movement will not end here. Our first priority is to treat Abhaya’s mother and to take care of the others injured by the police. The next priority is to decide how to continue this movement after talks with Abhaya (the victim)’s father and BJP state unit chief Samik Bhattacharya.”
Multiple BJP sources said that organising the protest with the doctor’s parents was counted as a success for the party, although the march did not have BJP flags. Last year, the BJP failed to take the lead on the issue as the Left and Left-leaning outfits set the tone of the protest.
The alleged police brutality against the mother, the BJP believes, will also help revive the issue.
“The BJP has been with the family and the issue from Day One. Our leaders like Agnimitra Paul and Kaustav Bagchi were the first to demand a second post-mortem of Abhaya’s body. If her family had listened to the BJP, the outcome of the probe might have been different. Anyway, it has been proved today that the BJP has stood with the family,” said Jagannath Chattopadhyay, a BJP state general secretary.
However, many doubt if the BJP’s exercise will actually help. Both Trinamool and the CPM have questioned the outcome of the CBI probe and the parents’ failure to meet Union home minister Amit Shah.
“The BJP has been trying to capitalise on the (RG Kar) issue even as they are cornered by complaints of humiliating the Bengali language and Bengali-speaking people outside the state. However, it was the CBI — a central agency — that failed to deliver the justice the parents wanted. If they are truly with the victim’s parents, then why did Amit Shah not meet them?” asked CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty.
Trinamool insiders said the direct involvement of the BJP on Saturday destroyed the “mass movement” character of the agitation and turned it into a political one. They pointed out that the BJP’s entry made many, including a section of junior doctors, stay away from the march.
“The intensity of this year’s movement compared to last year was significantly lower. The BJP’s direct entry into the ‘apolitical’ movement damaged its spontaneity,” said a senior Trinamool leader in Calcutta.
Tanmoy Ghosh, a Trinamool state general secretary, claimed that Adhikari tried to divert attention from the issue of Bengalis being tortured in BJP-ruled states, but failed to enthuse enough people to hit the streets on Saturday.
Minister Shashi Panja claimed the BJP created unrest on Calcutta’s streets on the day of Raksha Bandhan and contrasted it with Rabindranath Tagore’s initiative in 1905 to unite people “across religions, languages and castes” through this festivity and “resist the British government’s plan to partition Bengal”.
