West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed her demand for a “stringent central legislation on incidents of rape” and apprised him about the steps taken by the state government on women’s safety and security.
She further claimed that she had not received a response to her previous letter.
“I would reiterate and earnestly request to kindly consider a stringent Central legislation and exemplary punishment on heinous crimes of rape tape and murder with mandatory provision for disposal of cases in a specific time-frame by the trial authorities. I hope this matter would receive a very considerable attention at your kind end in the interest of our society at large,”Banerjee wrote in her letter .
“No reply was received from your end on such a sensitive issue,” Banerjee added in the letter. “I am of the thought that the seriousness of the subject and its relevance to the society have not been adequately appreciated while sending out this generic reply.”
On explaining steps taken by state govt, West Bengal CM gave details on the Fast Track Special Court. “Regarding Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), 10 exclusive POCSO Courts have been approved by the State Government. In addition to this, 88 FTSCs and 62 POCSO designated Courts are functioning throughout the State on complete State funding. Monitoring and disposal of cases is completely in the hands of the Courts,” Banerjee said in her letter.
In response, BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar questioned the state government and said, “How many fast track courts have been functioning in Bengal? In Kamduni gang rape case, three were punished in lower court. In Calcutta High Court, they were acquitted.”
“Creating legislation is not important but how it is to be implemented, it is more important. BJP will stop only after removing you from power. We will save Bengal from your clutch,” said Majumdar.
NHRC sends notice to Kolkata Police
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to Kolkata Police seeking an explanation on the alleged police excesses on the protestors participating in the ‘Nabanna Abhijan (march to Bengal secretariat)’ on August 27.
