Sandeshkhali Violence, NCW chairman Rekha Sharma demands Mamata Banerjee resignation and imposition of President’s Rule.
Following accusations of sexual assault by TMC politicians in Sandeshkhali, National Commission for Women (NCW) chairman Rekha Sharma on 19th February demanded resignation from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and imposition of President’s Rule.
Prior to her visit to Sandeshkhali, a group headed by Rekha Sharma, the chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), departed for Kolkata on 19th February. For more than ten days, there has been widespread agitation in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali district as women demonstrators demand justice for what they believe to be crimes committed by TMC leader Sheikh Shajahan and his associates.
The NCW chairman Rekha Sharma said "I am spending the whole day at Sandeshkhali in order to speak with the women. Arresting the offender is necessary, though. If (Shajahan) Sheikh is taken into custody, I think more women would voice their grievances. We need to give them confidence. Soon after arriving in the area, Sharma informed reporters, "I'll speak with the police." Many women in Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas district, have accused Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates of forcing them into a "land-grab and sexual assault."
Rekha Sharma further added that the superintendent of police and the district magistrate were not there to greet her. She said, "The police and the administration do little in response to women's concerns and do not listen to them. There is just one lady who has come forward and made her statement known to a magistrate. We'd want to see more women take the lead. The truth will come out. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has never permitted her officials to meet teams of central officers because she is attempting to hide the truth."
She also remarked that after visiting the region last week, two NCW members filed a report that detailed a "troubling pattern of negligence and complicity" on the part of police enforcement and the state administration. "We would like to speak with the victims. After that, we will meet with the governor of West Bengal and the President in New Delhi. It is dishonorable if even one event occurs."
Amit Malviya, BJP's National Information & Technology Department criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on X as he wrote, “She used the floor of the West Bengal Assembly to lie and defend a criminal, a rapist like Shahjahan Sheikh, and it will go down in the history of Bengal, as the biggest blot. She has not just defiled the institution of Vidhan Sabha but also demeaned the women of Bengal.”
Suvendu Adhikari, BJP leader wrote on X, “The execution of the order, which is supposed to be a precautionary measure, is being selectively imposed. When the TMC Minister and his entourage visit Sandeshkhali, the Section 144 imposed there suddenly vanishes in thin air. When the Leader of the Opposition visits with three other MLAs, fully complying with the order, then we are not allowed to step into Sandeshkhali.”
A local court on Sunday put Trinamool Congress politician Shibu Prasad Hazra, one of the main suspects in the Sandeshkhali violence case, into eight days of police prison. Hazra was taken into custody on Saturday from a hideaway in the Najat neighborhood of Basirhat. He had been evading capture since the accusations of sexual harassment were made against him.
