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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” yet 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,” she told reporters, while reacting to the gangrape incident.
By the time she tried to make a point of how her administration has been trying to advocate for minimising night duty for women after the RG Kar rape case that rocked Bengal last year, the BJP did the obvious — call it “victim shaming”. It did not hold back its scathing attack on her and said it is not the first time she has shamed the victim in a rape case.
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.”
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… pic.twitter.com/71xcY9te3f— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 12, 2025
“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.
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 #MamataBanerjee on gangrape of an MBBS student in Durgapur. Instead of standing with the BetiShe blames the Beti and defends… pic.twitter.com/YjRWkPeU37— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) October 12, 2025
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.
দুর্গাপুরে সংঘটিত নারকীয় গণধর্ষণের ঘটনার পর মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের মন্তব্য — সন্ধ্যার পর মহিলাদের ঘর থেকে বের হওয়া উচিত নয়, শুধু অসংবেদনশীল নয়, চরম অপমানজনকও।মুখ্যমন্ত্রী রাজ্যের মহিলাদের নিরাপত্তা দিতে সম্পূর্ণ ব্যর্থ। প্রশাসনিক ব্যর্থতা ঢাকতে এখন তিনি… pic.twitter.com/LNzS4pCwG5— Samik Bhattacharya (@SamikBJP) October 12, 2025
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.”
MAMATA’S PAST REMARKS ON RAPE SURVIVORS
When Mamata Banerjee cast doubt over the rape and death of a 14-year-old girl in Nadia’s Hanskhali — suggesting it could have been a “love affair” — it ignited outrage.
This comment, however, is not isolated but part of a long, troubling pattern of “blaming” the victim from a leader who has often prided herself on being the voice of women.
Hanskhali, 2022: ‘Was it rape or a love affair?’
In April 2022, a 14-year-old girl died after allegedly being raped by the son of a local TMC leader. Even before the investigation had concluded, Mamata Banerjee publicly questioned if the incident qualified as rape at all. “Has she been raped, or was she pregnant, or was it a love affair?”
Those words, spoken at a public event, triggered nationwide condemnation. Rights activists accused her of trivialising the trauma of the survivor and interfering with an ongoing probe. Instead of expressing empathy, critics said, she cast suspicion on the survivor’s conduct — a stance that mirrored her earlier remarks in similar cases.
2012: ‘It’s like an open market with open options’
A decade earlier, in 2012, Banerjee’s views on women’s safety had sparked controversy. As reports of sexual assault cases in Kolkata made headlines, she blamed modern social behaviour for the rise in rape cases.
“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,” she had said.
The statement — suggesting that growing freedom among young men and women was somehow responsible for crime against women — was widely criticised as regressive. Instead of holding perpetrators accountable, she appeared to link sexual violence to the breakdown of conservative social norms.
Park Street, 2012: ‘A fabricated story’
The same year, when a woman came forward alleging she had been gang-raped in a moving car on Kolkata’s Park Street, Banerjee famously dismissed the incident as a “fabricated story”.
“Shajano ghatona,” she said in Bengali — a staged or made-up incident. The comment came even before an investigation was completed. Years later, in 2015, a court convicted three men of the gangrape, vindicating the survivor’s account. But, the CM never apologised for her earlier dismissal.
Her supporters argue she speaks impulsively and later clarifies her intent, but opponents say such remarks from the state’s top leader embolden a culture of disbelief and delay justice for survivors.
Bengal women and child development minister Shashi Panja said, “I would urge BJP not to view this from a political lens. Bengal under CM Mamata Banerjee has always maintained zero tolerance for crimes against women. Let us not remind the BJP of rapes and self-immolation in Odisha, they were victims and survivors, too…”
Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in …Read More
Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in … Read More
October 12, 2025, 17:07 IST
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