Pro-BJP intellectuals rally in Kolkata to protest RG Kar case

Kolkata, Sep 11 (PTI) Pro-BJP intellectuals, including party leader and actor Mithun Chakraborty, took out a rally in the city on Wednesday demanding justice for the woman doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar hospital last month.

Led by Chakraborty and former Union minister Subhas Sarkar, hundreds of BJP activists and saffron-leaning intellectuals participated in the rally, which was organised to commemorate Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at Chicago's Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893 on this day.

The rally started from Swami Vivekananda's ancestral house on Shimla Street in Central Kolkata and culminated at Shyambazar Five Point Crossing.

"This protest must not stop. Bengal is known for its revolutionary history and its fight against oppression. I am happy to see this Bengal, which has now awakened against the oppression and corruption of the present regime. A mass movement has started. This is a spontaneous people's movement," Chakraborty told reporters.

The TMC quickly responded, accusing the BJP of politicising the RG Kar incident.

"It is quite evident how the BJP is trying to politicise the case. But they must first answer what the CBI has been doing all these days," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.

The junior doctors began their strike on August 9, hours after the body of the doctor was found in a seminar room at the hospital. Since then, the protest has escalated, leading to disruptions in healthcare services at state-run hospitals across West Bengal.

The West Bengal government on Wednesday rejected the junior doctors' demands for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's presence and a live broadcast as pre-conditions for talks to resolve the month-long 'cease work' and standoff over the alleged rape-murder of the woman medic.

Amid the 33rd day of protests and a sit-in outside Swasthya Bhawan for the second day, Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya said the government remains open to discussions but suggested that "political forces" might be influencing the protests.

This led to a quick rebuttal from the medics, who dismissed the claims as baseless and asserted they would continue their protests and sit-in until their demands are met. PTI PNT MNB