Kolkata, Jan 28 (IANS): Controversial and maverick Trinamool Congress leader and party legislator Madan Mitra, on Tuesday, resorted to an unprecedented and objectionable slander against the parents of the woman doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata, who was raped and then murdered within the hospital premises last year.
Reacting to the observation by the victim’s parents that they were against the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, Mitra indirectly hinted that the actual desire of the parents was probably hefty compensation for the tragedy.
“They are changing their statements regularly. Do they want compensation for the tragedy? In that case, they should say it directly. Already few hundred crores have been raised in the name of the doctors’ movement on the issue. If they want, then thousands of crores more could be raised and use that money for a noble cause,” Mitra said.
On Monday, the victim’s parents said that they are against the death penalty because they want the investigating agencies should probe him further to get to the brain behind the entire conspiracy.
While Trinamool Congress state general secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed that the victim’s parents were acting like the “spokespersons” of the left and ultra-left forces, four-time party Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee had accused them of “resorting to politics” over the tragedy of their daughter.
Mitra was criticised for his comments against the victim’s parents by several sections of the society.
Meanwhile, the BJP Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya said that Mitra, through his comments, has revealed the culture with which Trinamool Congress and the current West Bengal government operate.
“The victim’s parents, through their daily struggles since their daughter’s death, have proved that money or compensation does not matter all the time. They are only being attacked since their actions are becoming a matter of inconvenience for the ruling party in the state,” he said.
According to CPI-M Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate of Calcutta High Court Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, Mitra’s comments are in line with the internal culture within Trinamool Congress.
“This is a reflection of a rotten political culture pursued by a party over the years,” Bhattacharya said.