Mamata Banerjee’s gambit of putting the ball in the court of the Narendra Modi Government over the issues of women’s safety failed today as the Union Women and Child Development Ministry issued a sharp reply to the West Bengal Chief Minister highlighting the State’s own failings.
On August 22, when the State was convulsed with protests against the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the Government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the West Bengal Chief Minister had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a tougher legislation against rape. In her letter, the Chief Minister said that it was “horrifying to see that almost 90 cases of rapes occurred daily throughout the country”.
Observers say Mamata Banerjee, through her letter, had tried to play down the outrage in West Bengal by highlighting incidents of rape cases across India and thereby indirectly blaming the Central Government.
The Centre replied to Mamata Banerjee’s letter through the Women and Child Development Ministry.
In a reply made public today, the Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi criticized the West Bengal Government for failing to implement key emergency helplines such as the Women Helpline (WHL), Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) and Child Helpline.
She said that West Bengal has been allocated 123 fast-track courts, but most of them are not functional yet.
The Centre highlighted the State’s inability to operationalize the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) allocated to it under a Centrally sponsored scheme despite a significant backlog of cases related to sexual offenses.
The FTSC scheme, launched in October 2019, was designed to expedite the trial and disposal of pending cases related to rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.
Under this scheme, the Central Government allocated 123 FTSCs to West Bengal, including 20 exclusive POCSO courts and 103 combined courts for both rape and POCSO cases.
However, as of mid-June 2023, none of these courts had been made operational, the Union Minister said in her letter.
“The State of West Bengal communicated its willingness to participate in the Scheme vide letter dated 08.06.2023, committing to start 7 FTSCs. Under the revised target, West Bengal has been allocated 17 FTSCs, of which only 6 exclusive POCSO Courts have been operationalized as of 30.06 2024. In spite of a pendency of 48,600 rape and POCSO cases in West Bengal, the State Government has not taken any steps to start the remaining 11 FTSCS. Action in this regard is pending with the State Government,” she added.
The Minister urged the West Bengal Government to take immediate and effective measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.
Banerjee had written to PM Modi citing that almost 90 cases of rapes occur daily throughout the country. She said this “shakes the confidence and conscience of the society and the nation”. She stated that “such a serious and sensitive issue needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner through stringent Central legislation prescribing exemplary punishment against the persons involved in such dastardly crimes”.