People's Democracy

Bengal Attacks Condemned

THROUGH a joint statement issued from New Delhi on April 10, the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) have deplored and condemned the attack on Minati Ghosh, state secretary of the Ganatantrik Mahila Samity in West Bengal and former minister in the Left Front government, by TMC goons when she was attending to her work in the office in South Dinajpur. The office was attacked and she was dragged out to the street. She was physically assaulted and humiliated in the most shameful ways. She has had to be hospitalised with serious injuries. The statement said if a person of Minati Ghosh’s seniority and stature could be attacked in this shameful way, then no woman in West Bengal could be considered safe from the TMC goons. It is necessary for the National Commission of Women to look into the case and take urgent action, the two organisations have demanded.

The AIDWA and NFIW also condemned strongly the assaults on Left activists and the others in West Bengal in declared retaliation for the incident in Delhi involving the Bengal finance minister. This incident has already been disapproved and condemned by the Left parties. It is shocking and shameful, however, that on that very pretext women activists and leaders like Minati Ghosh were being attacked.

The two organisations have demanded that those who have attacked Minati Ghosh must be arrested forthwith. The violence unleashed by the TMC against those protesting against the custodial murder of student leader Sudipto Gupta must be stopped and a judicial probe instituted into his death.

UNITE TO RESIST

ATTACKS: SFI

On the day, the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Students Federation of India (SFI) also expressed grief and anguish over the orgy of violence and terror perpetrated by Trinamul Congress in West Bengal since April 9 evening over the alleged heckling of the chief minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, outside the Planning Commission office. While the unfortunate incident involving the finance minister should have been avoided, the SFI CEC said the anger over continuous denial of a judicial probe into the murder of custodial death of Comrade Sudipto must not be forgotten either.

The SFI statement also referred to a particular incident in which Trinamul goons, who don’t have any relation to the Presidency University, barged into its campus, roughed up the students and vandalised some parts of the building. The century-old Baker Laboratory of the Physics Department, one of the most famous departments of the college, was also vandalised. The laboratory was set up by Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose on January 20, 1913 and a celebrated scientist like C V Raman once worked in this laboratory. The revamped Baker Lab was inaugurated by former president A P J Abdul Kalam earlier this year.

The SFI CEC also recalled that Trinamul supporters were on the rampage across the state since April 9 evening, and had attacked, vandalised and set on fire more than 1000 offices of the Left parties and student organisations. Left leaders and supporters were being attacked throughout the state.

Strongly condemning these attacks, the SFI CEC urged upon the students community and the common people of West Bengal to unite and resist such heinous attacks.