BJP MP Patidar attacks Mamata over Sandeshkhali incident, says she failed to protect women

Jabalpur: BJP's Rajya Sabha member Kavita Patidar on Wednesday attacked Mamata Banerjee over the alleged sexual abuse of women in Sandeshkhali village, alleging that the West Bengal chief minister has completely failed to protect women in her state and was shielding those indulging in such crimes.

She also alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government led by Banerjee did not even allow a six-member delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including two Union ministers, to visit and meet the Sandeshkhali victims.

Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24-Parganas district has been tense with a large number of women in the locality accusing TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of "land-grab and sexually assaulting" them under coercion.

"Though the name of West Bengal chief minister is Mamata, she does not have even the 'Ma' of Mamatva (affection) in her the way atrocities are committed in her state against women," Patidar told PTI here while taking part in a meeting.

BJP chief J P Nadda constituted a six-member committee of the party MPs to visit Sandeshkhali, where women protested against alleged atrocities by local TMC leaders. However, the delegation was stopped from visiting Sandeshkhali last week by the police citing prohibitory orders.

Patidar was one of the members of the delegation.

"The delegation recently visited Sandeshkhali on the directives of the party president...Atrocities are committed against women in West Bengal. These women were called on the pretext of a meeting and then atrocities were committed against them. All these painful and heart-wrenching incidents are taking place with our sisters there," Patidar said.

"Our delegation was stopped en route and not allowed to visit Sandeshkhali. Two women central ministers were also there with us. The police personnel, who were supposed to provide protocol and security to them and other women leaders, were preventing us from going forward," she said.

They did not allow us to visit Sandeshkhali as they thought that if they did so, the reality surrounding the crime would come out in the open, she claimed.

"The police have been maintaining that they did not receive any complaint from the women (in Sandeshkhali), but when the victims contacted us through a video call, they cried and told us how atrocities were committed against them," Patidar added.

"Mamata Banerjee's close aide Shajahan Sheikh is committing atrocities against women, while the chief minister is protecting him," she said.

Not allowing the six-member BJP delegation to visit Sandeshkhali proved that atrocities were committed there, the BJP MP said.

"If there is nothing wrong, then they should have allowed us to go there to make things crystal clear," she said.

But instead of ending the injustice being done, the police prevented the team from going there, she said.

"Atrocities against women were being committed in West Bengal for a long time. Earlier, when women took part in the local body elections, they were disrobed and forced to walk in a village. But the way Banerjee is giving statements in the assembly reflects that she has totally failed to protect women in her state and shield those involved in such crimes," Patidar said.

The BJP later met the West Bengal Governor and raised all these issues with him and he also expressed anguish and pain over it. He assured them that he would give a report on the issue, she said.

"We have also submitted a report to the party's national president on the matter and the party will take appropriate measures on it," she added.