NEW DELHI: Barely three months after their previous public spat, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Mahua Moitra are once again engaged in a war of words, this time over Banerjee’s controversial comments on the alleged gang-rape case at South Calcutta Law College.Banerjee, while responding to Moitra’s criticism, targeted her personal life, referring to her marriage with former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Pinaki Misra. “Mahua has come back to India after her honeymoon and started fighting with me! She accuses me of being anti-woman. What is she? She has broken up a 40-year marriage and married a guy who is 65 years old. Did she not hurt the lady?” he said.Also read: ‘Misogyny cuts across party lines’: Mohua Moitra reacts after TMC distances from Kalyan, Mitra remarks on Kolkata gang-rape caseHe further said, “An MP who was expelled from parliament for breach of ethics is preaching me! She is the most anti-woman.”
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Banerjee’s remarks came after Moitra backed the TMC’s decision to publicly distance itself from his and party MLA Madan Mitra’s statements about the Kolkata rape case. On Saturday, the TMC posted on X, “The remarks made by MP Kalyan Banerjee and MLA Madan Mitra concerning the heinous crime at South Calcutta Law College were made in their personal capacities. The party unequivocally disassociates itself from their statements and strongly condemns the same.”Quoting the party’s post, Moitra wrote: “Misogyny in India cuts across party lines. What differentiates @AITCofficial is that we condemn these disgusting comments no matter who makes them.”Banerjee, in a statement on Friday, had said, “What can be done if a friend rapes his friend? Will the police be there in schools? This was done by students to another student. Who will protect her?”Also read: In controversial remark, TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee says ‘What can be done if … ‘Mitra, meanwhile, blamed the survivor. “If someone calls you when the college is closed, then don’t go. If she had taken a friend or informed someone, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said.The alleged gang-rape took place on June 25. According to the 24-year-old survivor, three men — Manojit Mishra, Pramit Mukherjee, and Zaib Ahmed — took her to a guard’s room inside the law college, raped her, filmed the assault, and threatened to leak the video. She said she was confined for over three hours and was hit with a hockey stick when she resisted.All three accused were arrested within 24 hours. Mishra, a former office-bearer of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, was working on a temporary contract at the college and is a practising lawyer. The security guard, Pinaki Banerjee, has also been arrested. The accused are in police custody until July 1. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up.The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance and demanded a time-bound investigation. The BJP has also criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led government, with senior party leaders demanding her resignation and accusing the administration of failing to ensure women’s safety.
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