Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government, fearing protests, is pulling out all stops to quash dissent in the run-up to and during West Bengal’s biggest festival, the Durga Puja. This follows the unprecedented protests that rocked the nation following the gruesome rape and murder of a young doctor at Kolkata’s state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on 9 August.
From the junior doctors who led the 42-day protests, to ordinary citizens who came on to the streets demanding justice, to Durga Puja organisers who refused the government’s dole, all sections are under the scanner of Mamata’s police and party leaders.
The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front felt the heat last week. It alleged that the state government had taken back its permission to allow them to hold a convention at the government-owned Dhana Dhhanye Auditorium on 27 September to discuss the future roadmap for their movement for justice for the RG Kar rape-murder victim.
The agitating medics had withdrawn their 11-day sit-in before state Health Department headquarters Swasthya Bhawan last week and partially rejoined emergency and essential services at state-run hospitals after talks with the state government. The doctors, in a statement, alleged that the government has put up roadblocks to booking other auditoriums in the city. “Even the owners of a private auditorium refused to allow us to hold our convention. They said that the police had already warned them to keep us away,” alleged a leading member of the doctors’ front.
The junior doctors’ front has invited people to take to the streets on 29 September, the eve of the Supreme Court hearing the case. It also announced a maha micchil (mass rally) and gathering at Dharmatala in Central Kolkata on the occasion of Mahalaya on 2 October. It is believed that Mahalaya marks the arrival of Goddess Durga to the realm of mortals for puja and kicks off the Devi Paksha fortnight during which the Goddess is worshipped. On Wednesday, after a meeting with representatives from 26 state-run medical colleges, the medics alleged that false cases have been slapped against those who have expressed solidarity with their movement and joined democratic protests demanding the “clean-up” of the healthcare system and arrest of all those involved in the crime.
“The administration is pursuing a vindictive attitude even after we showed intention and flexibility to end the deadlock. Over one month has passed but there is not much demonstrative evidence of the probe into our colleague sister’s rape and murder moving at the desired pace,” Aniket Mahato, one of the doctors, told The Sunday Guardian. The doctors alleged that senior government functionaries have asked them: “Why are you still continuing with the agitation when most of your demands have either been met or looked into?” Calling it intimidation, they said: “Our apolitical movement for justice for our sister will not stop till we achieve our objectives.”
The doctors asserted that while they appreciated the civil society’s solidarity movement for justice for the victim, they clarified that they are not a part of a call by a section of people to hit the streets on Mahalaya to offer “tarpan” for the victim. Another group of young doctors from SSKM Hospital who had planned a protest in a privately-owned mall said the management backtracked after initially allowing them. “One mall manager told us that the local police station had told them not to allow the gathering, otherwise there would be repercussions,” alleged one of the organisers.
This week, a fresh notification by Kolkata Police imposing prohibitory orders in the heart of Kolkata, including parts of Esplanade, sparked fresh protests with political parties in the Opposition and civil rights groups alleging that the move is to curb protests over the RG Kar rape and murder incident. An order signed by Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita says that prohibitory orders will be imposed in the areas of Bowbazar Police Station, Hare Street Police, and Headquarters Traffic Guard for a period of two months starting 25 September 2024. The youth and women’s wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front have approached the Calcutta High Court against the notification.
Though the Kolkata Police had imposed prohibitory orders in areas around RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during the recent protests, imposing such orders now in the heart of the city ahead of Durga Puja festivities has evoked strong criticism by both protesting doctors and Opposition leaders. The places mentioned in the notification are considered most crowded in the city with thousands of commuters navigating the areas each hour.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tried to justify the directive and said that everything was being challenged in courts.
Supporters of the CM joined in targeting former Kolkata Mayor and senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya for challenging such directives of the state government in the courts. The Chief Minister said that she cannot make any comments on the courts but emphasised that law and order was a state subject and the responsibility of ensuring that Durga Puja remains peaceful lies with her government.
“The order violates the Supreme Court directive where it has allowed protests by citizens over the RG Kar rape and murder. Such a blanket prohibitory order violates the rights of people. There is some insidious motive behind such a directive,” said advocate Shamim Ahmed, who is representing those opposing the order before the High Court.
“This is an illegal directive. There is no legal bar anywhere in the country to hold a peaceful assembly. The Constitution has given us the right. There is certainly no Taliban rule or police rule in our state. How can a democratically elected government agree to this?” Subarna Goswami, one of the doctors who have supported the protests, said.
Police sources said that senior officers had given instructions that since multiple small protests are being organised in localities, local police stations have been given instructions to find out and keep tabs on the local-level organisers. They have also been instructed not to disperse the gatherings but to videograph such protests so that the participants can be identified.
Already, the organisers of a small demonstration at Behala in west Kolkata, have been summoned for blocking a National Highway. The police are also keeping tabs on the organisers of the Durga Pujas which have refused the Rs 85,000 dole from the government as a form of protest and to seek justice for the murdered lady doctor. Police sources said that they were “under instructions”.
Representatives of the Sanatani Durga Puja committee which organises a Durga Puja at Kolkata’s New Town’s Mela ground, alleged that the New Town Kolkata Development Authority had refused them permission to hold the puja. “We had applied for permission last November. Mamata Banerjee and her government are refusing permission because they know BJP leaders come to this puja,” said one of the organisers. We are again going to court less than a fortnight before the Pujas.
Last week, at a meeting of the Kolkata Police with the organisers of all the top pujas in the city, Police Commissioner Manoj Verma had specifically asked those present to ensure that “no troublemakers be allowed to take advantage”. They were also told to be vigilant against flash mobs or those wearing “We Want Justice” t-shirts, headbands or caps. Many members of the Forum for Durgostab who were present, told The Sunday Guardian that they saw this as a veiled threat.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Sanatani Durga Puja committee which organises a Durga Puja at Kolkata’s New Town’s Mela ground, alleged that the New Town Kolkata Development Authority had refused them permission to hold the puja in the place where they have been organising it for the past two years. “We had applied for permission last November. Mamata Banerjee and her government are refusing permission because they know BJP leaders come to this puja,” said one of the organisers. “We are again going to court less than a fortnight before the Pujas.”