Whatever the history and explanations for the rise of violence in West Bengal, attempts must be made to set things on the right course.
Authors
Jagdish Batra, Professor & Executive Dean, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India
Summary
Once again, the Mamata Banerjee government is in the dock for the planned attack by goons on the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 14.It is clear that the thousand-strong crowd aimed to disrupt the doctors’ protest and eliminate evidence of the heinous rape-murder of the female trainee doctor, who was only attending to patients at that unearthly hour. Instead of taking the proper course of action, we learn that the college principal has been shifted to a plum post elsewhere.
Surprisingly, the chief minister led a protest march, leaving people bewildered. Her blaming ‘Ram’ and ‘Vaam’ for the attack on the hospital is not only off the mark but also juxtaposes a venerable religious icon with atheistic communism — “yoked by violence together,” as Samuel Johnson might have said about incompatible comparisons.
The question being asked everywhere is this: Was this protest rally against her own government? After all, law and order are the responsibility of the state government, and moreover, the home ministry is under Mamata’s charge. I was reminded of the late Jyoti Basu, who was deputy chief minister in the Left Front government led by Ajoy Mukherjee.
Published in: News 18
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