Amid the mounting attacks on the ruling Trinamool Congress-led government over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, state minister Udayan Guha sparked a fresh row as he openly warned those criticising West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on social media. In a video that has surfaced online, he can be heard threatening that fingers of those blaming Banerjee and demanding her resignation over the incident would be broken.
"People who are attacking Mamata Banerjee, pointing fingers at her, and demanding her resignation will never succeed. Those pointing fingers at the CM will be broken and crushed," he can be heard saying in the video.
The body of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee was found on August 9 in the seminar room of RG Kar MCH, which sparked a massive nationwide uproar.
A day after the incident was brought to the fore, a civic volunteer was arrested the in connection with the crime. He is currently in CBI's custody, which has taken over the probe from the Kolkata Police on Calcutta High Court's orders.
The controversy surrounding the doctor's rape and murder and the public outrage against the Bengal government over its delayed action and mishandling of the case was fueled after a mob vandalised the medical facility's emergency department in the early hours of August 15.
The vandalism took place amid midnight protests in various parts of the state and outside the RG Kar MCH on the night of August 14 against the doctor’s rape-murder.
On the incident of vandalism and the backlash the TMC-led government faced after it, Guha stated: "Despite provocations, the police did not baton charge when RG Kar hospital was vandalised," PTI reported.
Drawing parallels with the students' protest in Bangladesh that led to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ouster in the neighbouring country to the current situation in Bengal following the incident, Guha stated: "We will never allow West Bengal to turn into another Bangladesh."
Meanwhile, TMC MP Arup Chakraborty criticised the doctors' strike and warned that the party would not protect the medics if public outrage turned against them as a result of their stir.
At another rally in Bankura, Chakraborty was heard saying in another viral video:"If you use this movement as an excuse to go home or spend time with your friends, and a patient dies because of your strike and the public turns against you, we will not come to your aid."
Doctors, medical students, and other medical professionals have been staging protests and strikes demanding justice for the victim across West Bengal and the country. The protests, which have left the healthcare services crippled in the state, entered its 12th day on Tuesday.