New anti-rape bill moved by TMC govt to divert attention from R G Kar incident: Adhikari

Kolkata: Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government moved the anti-rape Bill to divert attention from public anger and protests over the murder of a doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Speaking during discussion on the bill, the BJP leader said "We will give full support to the new bill and will not seek voting on it." He alleged that the TMC government failed to prevent incidents of rape and sexual abuse of women during its tenure.

Adhikari demanded immediate enactment of the bill by the state government after its passage.

The Leader of Opposition cited media reports of sexual abuses and rapes in different parts of West Bengal in the past couple of years and alleged that in none of these cases, CBI had taken over investigations of these incidents and the state investigating agencies had "failed" to arrest and ensure stringent punishment for the culprits.

"We also want immediate enactment of the Bill after its passage. I demand the amendments suggested by me including taking action against the concerned police station for any failure to act on the complaint, my recommendations for taking action against the health official concerned if his failure is established in investigation should also be incorporated in the bill," he said.

Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay said Adhikari's reference to past incidents from media reports and BJP's other demand pertaining to the CM will be expunged from the House records.

"The chief minister failed to ensure the safety of a doctor at a state-run hospital last month as her government failed to bring to justice the culprits in past incidents," he said.

As Adhikari read out certain amendments demanding strictest punishment for police station concerned if it failed to lodge any FIR of the victims or kins, strictest punishment for health officials concerned for failure to conduct statutory medical tests or post-mortem and for destroying evidence, these were not put to voting as the law minister Moloy Ghatak cited legal technicalities.

The chief minister said the state will ask legal experts to examine the recommendations.