The protests over the rape-murder of a young doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College still churning the country, the BJP today dubbed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee the "destroyer" and claimed that name has been changed by the people to "Nirmamata Banerjee" in the aftermath of this horrific incident.
Speaking to the media, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia demanded that Mamata Banerjee resign from the post of the Chief Minister. "Mamata Banerjee has become Mamata the destroyer. By her misdeeds she has destroyed the dignity of a woman, a doctor who was serving the society," he said.
The Chief Minister, he added, is a "destroyer of the rule of law".
"The anarchist Mamata Banerjee. She is the destroyer of evidence in this heinous crime... (through her) acts of omission or commission. She is the destroyer of the constitution of our country," he added.
The reason, he said, was that the Chief Minister is protecting the former principal of the medical college whose job it was to protect the students and in which he failed. "Let alone investigating him, she rewarded him and is standing with him," he said. "She also destroyed a woman's self-respect. She destroyed the constitutional values she had sworn to protect. She is destroying the rule of law and finally, the evidence in the case," he added.
Earlier today, Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose ripped into the Mamata Banerjee government, saying it has failed the women of the state.
"Bengal is not a place safe for women. Bengal has failed its women. Not the society but the present government has failed its women folk... the government has ensured that a woman has no protection, which is what is reflected after the gruesome tragedy that took place in RG Kar. This should not be repeated," the Governor added.
The government has also been criticised massively for its new notification listing rules for workplaces where women work at night. "Wherever possible, night duty may be avoided for women. We hope these measures are implemented at the earliest," said Alapan Bandopadhyay, the Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister.
Ms Banerjee has accused the Left and the BJP of conspiring against her. "They want to create unrest in Bengal and they both have come together to do this," she had said a day after the vandalism by a mob at the RG Kar hospital. Both opposition parties had dubbed it an effort to destroy evidence.
The allegation about destruction of evidence has come up at every step - including the delay in allowing the woman's parents to see her body and the renovation near the seminar hall, where the woman was found dead on Friday.
With the case now in the hands of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has questioned what breakthroughs they have achieved in a week.
The protests over the matter, meanwhile, intensified today with advocates of the Calcutta High Court also hitting the streets in solidarity with doctors.
The Supreme Court of India has also taken note of the case, with Chief Justice DY Chandrachud leading a bench that will hear the matter tomorrow.