NEW DELHI:  Amid national outrage over the May 4 video showing a mob attacking and stripping two tribal women in Manipur, Bengal BJP MP Locket Chatterjee on Friday broke down recalling similar incidents during the panchayat polls in the Mamata Banerjee-ruled state. The BJP MP, who was addressing a press conference, was seen crying as recalled a number of cases of heinous crime against women, including alleged disrobing, during and after the West Bengal panchayat polls.


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An emotional Chatterjee was moved to tears as she spoke about these incidents. "The West Bengal chief minister is silent despite being a woman. You tell us where we will go. We also want our daughters to be saved," she said crying. "We are also daughters of the country. West Bengal is also part of the country," Chatterjee said, trying to compose herself.


"West Bengal is no different. The situation in Manipur also prevails in West Bengal," she told reporters.


 



 


Hitting out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, she said women are being "disrobed" and paraded in the state while she is observing 'Martyrs' Day'.


Addressing reporters, West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said that he condemns what happened in Manipur, a reference to the viral May 4 video of two women being paraded naked in the violence-hit northeastern state.


He claimed that similar crimes are happening in Bengal as well. The only difference is that incidents in Bengal were not recorded on camera, he said, citing several alleged incidents.


A woman was disrobed and assaulted in a polling booth during the recent panchayat election in West Bengal, the two BJP leaders alleged.



Both leaders condemned the incident in Manipur but asked if videos of similar crimes in West Bengal needed to go viral for people to pay attention to the situation there. A TMC leader was involved in one of the attacks, they claimed.


Addressing the Trinamool Congress' annual 'Martyrs' Day' rally in Kolkata, party supremo and Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee continued her tirade against the BJP-led Union government over the Manipur situation, saying the BJP's 'Beti Bachao' scheme has now turned into 'Beti Jalao'.


The TMC has been organising the rally for many years in memory of 13 Congress supporters who were shot dead in police firing in 1993 during a march to the state secretariat - Writers Buildings - when the CPI(M)-led Left Front was in power in the state.