'Time & Again': BJP Cites RG Kar, Park Street Cases After Mamata Banerjee's Durgapur Gangrape Remark

Last Updated:October 12, 2025, 17:08 IST

The BJP did not hold back on its scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying it is not the first time she has shamed the victim in a rape case

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee expressed shock at the alleged gangrape of a second-year student from a private medical college in Durgapur. (Image: PTI/File)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s ‘girls should not be allowed outside at night’ remark after the Durgapur gangrape case, has elicited a strong reaction from the BJP that said she has “chosen to blame the victim" once again.

Mamata Banerjee expressed shock at the alleged gangrape of a second-year student from a private medical college in Durgapur. But followed it up with an equally shocking statement, saying “girls should not be allowed to go outside of college at night".

Banerjee advised colleges not to allow girls to go outside at night after the incident in Durgapur. “I’m shocked to see the incident, but private medical colleges also should take care of their students, and especially girls. The girls should not be allowed to go outside (college) at night. They have to protect themselves also. There is a forest area. Police are searching all the people," Banerjee told reporters, while reacting to the gangrape incident.

The BJP, however, did not hold back when it came to launching an attack on Banerjee. It said this is not the first time she has shamed the victim.

The saffron party recalled previous incidents like the RG Kar, Sandeshkhali, and the Park Street rape cases to highlight that the chief minister has not only failed to ensure women’s safety in West Bengal, but has always reacted with insensitivity in such matters. It said she has “no moral right to govern" with such a mindset and “instead of standing with the Beti she blames the Beti and defends Balatkari".

Calling it “yet another disgraceful remark", BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya wrote on X: “In yet another disgraceful remark, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed the second-year MBBS student from Odisha, studying at IQ City Medical College & Hospital, Durgapur (West Bengal), who was brutally gang raped by Wasif Ali and his accomplices, for her own assault."

“She suggested that girls should not go out late at night, implying that if they do, they are inviting rape. This isn’t the first time Mamata Banerjee has spoken with such insensitivity. Time and again, she has chosen to blame the victim instead of the perpetrators. A Chief Minister who cannot stand with women in their darkest hour has no moral right to govern," Malviya added.

While Banerjee condemned the incident and assured that strong action will be taken against the perpetrators, she also drew parallels with crimes in other states questioning the silence over them. This did not, however, help in softening the jarring impact of her remarks.

“Once again CM Mamata Banerjee indulges in victim shaming and blaming. ‘The girls should not be allowed to go outside (college) at night,’ said CM Mamata Banerjee on gangrape of an MBBS student in Durgapur. Instead of standing with the Beti She blames the Beti and defends Balatkari. Time & again: RG Kar , Sandeshkhali , Park Street – this has been done. Will the outrage lobby who was shouting yesterday – Supriya Shrinate, Priyanka Vadra , Rahul Gandhi etc open their mouths now?" BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla asked on X.

 West Bengal BJP president Shamik Bhattacharya said it is “shameful" that the state was under her governance while remarks in the case were not only insensitive but “extremely insulting".

“Following the horrific mass rape incident in Durgapur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s remark—that women should not leave their homes after evening—is not only insensitive but also extremely insulting. The Chief Minister has completely failed to ensure the safety of women in the state. To cover up administrative failures, she is now blaming women themselves — this is a clear example of ‘victim blaming’," Bhattacharya said in a post on X.

Attacking the Trinamool Congress over its failure to keep women safe, he said: “Where the women of the state are looking to the government with hope for safety and justice, the Chief Minister is advising them to remain confined to their homes, which is unacceptable in a civilized society. This remark proves that the Trinamool government has no accountability regarding women’s safety. It is shameful that the governance of the state is in the hands of a Chief Minister with such a mindset."

This is not the first time Mamata Banerjee has blamed the victim in similar rape cases in the state. Here is a list:

Hanskhali, Nadia Minor Girl (2022): A 14-year-old girl died following allegations of rape by the son of a local TMC leader. Banerjee, speaking publicly, raised doubts about whether it was rape, whether the girl was pregnant, or whether the cause of death might have been something else. She also repeatedly referred to reports of a “love affair". These comments were criticised as victim-blaming. She had said: “Has she been raped, or was she pregnant, or was it a love affair?" 

On Interaction Between Men and Women (2012): In 2012, Banerjee was reported to have said rape cases were increasing in part because social interactions between men and women had become more open, suggesting that earlier stricter social constraints were a preventive factor. These remarks were interpreted by many as implying that victims bear part of the responsibility by way of behaviour or social norms. She had said: “Rape cases are on the rise because boys and girls interact more freely now. Earlier, if men and women held hands, they would be caught and reprimanded by parents, but now everything is so open. It’s like an open market with open options."

Park Street Gangrape Case (2012): In this case, she reportedly dismissed media reports and questioned the validity of the case, which many saw as a way of casting doubt on the victim’s claims. She called it a “fabricated story".

Oindrila Mukherjee

Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st...Read More

Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st...

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News politics 'Time & Again': BJP Cites RG Kar, Park Street Cases After Mamata Banerjee's Durgapur Gangrape Remark

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