‘Suffered patiently’: TMC MP Jawhar Sircar decides to quit Rajya Sabha over Kolkata doctor's rape-murder
In the letter, he wrote that he had thought Mamata Banerjee would interfere in the "old Mamata style".
In a letter to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress leader Jawhar Sircar wrote on Sunday that he would resign from the Rajya Sabha in the wake of Kolkata doctor's rape and murder. He also exhorted the TMC chief to “save the state”.
The politician said he would go to Delhi and submit his resignation to Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
In the letter, he wrote that he had thought Mamata Banerjee would interfere in the "old Mamata style".
“I thought you would interfere in the ongoing movement in the old Mamata style, but I did not see it," he said.
He wrote in the letter that the ongoing agitation of doctors was against the "unchecked overbearing attitude of the favoured few and the corrupt".
Also read: Kolkata rape-murder: Colleagues reveal how victim spent her last hours
He claimed there was angst and a lack of confidence in people against the government.
“I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital and was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened and whatever punitive steps the government is taking now are too little and quite late,” the letter reads.
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He said normalcy in the state would have returned earlier had the government punished those guilty of taking improper administrative actions.
He said he would "disassociate myself totally from politics" after his resignation.
On August 9, a trainee doctor was found raped and murdered inside Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The police have arrested a man named Sanjay Roy for the crime.
However, the hospital administration and the Kolkata police's role after the murder came under the scanner due to questionable decisions.
The ex-principal of the hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh, allegedly tried to pass off the murder as a suicide. The victim's family was made to wait for over three hours before they were allowed to see the body of their daughter. The murder FIR was filed around 14 hours after the body had been found.
The CBI arrested Dr Sandip Ghosh last month over alleged financial irregularities in the hospital.
Doctors and civilians have been protesting against the shocking incident for several weeks.
What did TMC say about Sircar's remarks?
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said the protesters misunderstood the administration.
"At present, we are working like soldiers under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee but this does not mean that I criticize the personal principle of Jawhar Sircar, it is not so, it is his decision, he can take it. We condemn this (RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder) incident, people are angry about this incident, and they misunderstand the administration. In such a situation, as a soldier of the party, we have to try to explain to the people, we will follow the role of our soldier. If Jawhar Sircar takes any decision, he is a very senior and wise person, he has different principles, and our top leadership will consider it. We cannot say anything about this," he said.
BJP demands Mamata Banerjee's resignation
"If someone should give the resignation it should be West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee...The TMC government and Mamata Banerjee institutionalised corruption and in his letter, he wrote that whenever he raised the issue of corruption he was silenced...Mamata Banerjee tried to destroy the evidence and save the accused," said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.
With inputs from PTI, ANI