TMC women's wing takes out yet another protest rally in Kolkata against Hathras rape incident

KOLKATA: Intensifying its protests against the alleged gang rape and killing at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh and increase in atrocities against women in BJP-ruled states, the Mahila Morcha of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress took out yet another rally in the city on Saturday.

Hundreds of women activists of TMC took part in the rally which marched from Hazra More to Esplanade, a distance of about three km. Each participant of the rally carried posters which read 'The Dalit Woman is our Daughter' and written only in black, besides shouting slogans.

This is the third such rally by the TMC Mahila Morcha this week despite the pandemic regulations. Processions on the same issue were taken out by it on Tuesday and Thursday in other parts of the city. Banerjee is known to be most critical of BJP and her party has seized the Hathras incident before the state Assembly polls due in April-May 2021.

Trinamool Mahila Congress president Chandrima Bhattacharya said, "We want to register our protests against the atrocities against Dalits and women in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh."

Bhattacharya, who is also a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government, accused the BJP-ruled states of creating division among upper and lower castes and dividing the society. Similar protest rallies were taken out out by the party's women activists in different districts of the state earlier this week.

Banerjee had herself walked in the first such protest by TMC on Octoober 3 and had hit out at BJP calling it the "biggest pandemic in the country". The protest programme was lauched after a TMC delegation of MPs led by Derek O'brien was prevented from meeting the rape victim's kin by the UP police.