Rift deepens within TMC as protests over doctor’s rape-murder intensify on streets of Kolkata

In West Bengal, the All India Trinamool Congress finds itself up against the wall. The brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata may have dented the ratings of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, going by an internal assessment by West Bengal’s ruling party, according to India Today.According to the report, while the Opposition has declared that the R G Kar case will prove to be Mamata’s Achilles’ heel, the TMC survey, covering a few thousand respondents from around Bengal, too has raised some uncomfortable questions for the party. The survey suggests that the perception of a cover-up and the police mishandling the investigation has pulled down the CM’s popularity as well as the credibility of her party and the government to lows perhaps not seen in many years.The TMC had won 29 of the 42 seats, seven more than last time, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The party should have consolidated its strength post-polls, but the way the government has handled (or mishandled) the RG Kar horror has left the party not only divided but its leaders speaking in different voices.The state capital has witnessed a series of protests with doctors, students, politicians and common people hitting the streets almost every day since the rape-murder on August 9. People across the nation have also taken to social media to express their outrage. Amidst all this, the Bengal government finds itself in real trouble.The entire situation has taken a strong political colour as both the ruling TMC and opposition BJP and CPI(M) fired salvos at each other. The opposition parties have targeted the TMC government for its callousness in handling the case before it was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).The failure of the Kolkata police to secure the crime scene intact as a mob vandalized the site during the ‘Reclaim the Night’ protest by women across the city was one of the lapses for which the government has been targeted by the people.The TMC has a strong vote base among women. In the aftermath of the doctor’s rape-murder, many puja committees across the city, mostly run by women, declined any kind of assistance from Banerjee. Women have taken the centre stage in most of the protests openly pouring out their rage and dissatisfaction, making it difficult for the ruling party.To make matters worse, the stark difference in opinions within the party itself have made people question the credibility of the ruling government. While TMC leaders and party workers have threatened the protesters and made derogatory remarks, the Chief Minister herself added fuel to the fire.



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