“We condemn Manipur incident but…”: says Bengal BJP chief

West Bengal State BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar on Friday condemned the incident in Manipur where women were paraded in the nude while stating that women were targetted in a similar fashion in his state.
He referred to an alleged incident of assault against a BJP worker in South Panchla. “We condemn the Manipur incident, it is a sad incident but a woman BJP worker was paraded naked in South Panchla, is it less sad than the Manipur incident? The difference is that there is no video of this incident because Mamata Banerjee’s police will now allow it to be recorded”, he said.
The state BJP chief was addressing a joint press briefing with BJP MP from Hooghly Locket Chatterjee in connection with a video of two women being paraded in the nude in Manipur, which had surfaced online and shared widely.
During the press briefing, MP Chatterjee broke down saying “Save our daughters” adding adding that West Bengal is also part of this country.
Recounting an alleged incident of sexual assault of a BJP worker by Trinamool Congress (TMC) during Bengal panchayat polls on July 8, Chatterjee was visibly emotional.
“We are also women. We also want our daughters to be saved… We are also India’s daughters. West Bengal is also part of this country. Yesterday Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on incidents of assault against women in Manipur. He not only spoke for the daughters in Manipur but for daughters across the country. He said that the law and order in all states should be made strict to protect our daughters. Not just daughters of Manipur but daughters all over the country. So I urge you all to speak up for us also. Where will our daughters go for justice? There were incidents of violence against our daughters during the recent panchayat polls”, MP Chatterjee said during the press briefing.
West Bengal DGP Manoj Malviya, however, said that the police investigated the incident but no evidence was found of the alleged incident.
“Howrah Panchla incident is in the news… An email was received on July 13. As per the email, it was alleged that on July 8, the victim was forcibly pulled out of the polling booth, her clothes were torn… That was only through the mail. Police then asked them to FIR. We investigated and found this alleged incident has no evidence or proof found,” DGP Manoj Malviya said.
The DGP further said that the police, central forces and even the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly had visited the place on July 8, where the polling was taking place, but no one said anything about the alleged incident.
“On July 8, there were police and central forces in the booth and many people came to vote, but no one said such an incident happened. Even the LOP had visited that place and the fact-finding team visited once, but no one said about this incident. Though we reached out to the complainant and her husband and called her for a medical examination they have not given anything. If this kind of incident had happened the police would have taken action. This is a digital era and everyone records if anything happens”, the DGP added.