'Extremely Serious Matter, Please Don't Make it Political': Rijiju Slams Mamata Over Anti-Rape Bill

New Delhi: A day after the West Bengal State Assembly passed the 'Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024,' the Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged that state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has turned the 'Kolkata rape and murder' case into a "political issue," adding that the government has "failed to act" to prevent the crime in the first place.

In a post on X Union Home Minister and BJP leader Kiren Rijiju said, " This is an extremely serious matter. Please don’t make it political issue. Very strong laws are necessary but strong actions are more important. When the letter was written, media had carried this news extensively, but West Bengal Govt failed to act!"

According to the Union Minister, in 2018, the Parliament passed a "stringent law to deal with heinous crimes like rape" through which it sought to establish Fast-Track Special Courts(FTSC) to speed up trial and disposal of pending rape and POSCO cases.

Rijiju also alleged that the Mamata-led Trinamool government failed to consent to this centrally sponsored scheme under a Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, despite several communications in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The updated letter shared by Rijiju addressing Mamata said that as per the Supreme Court's directions, "one exclusive POCSO (ePOCSO) court was required to be set up in districts wherever pendency of POCSO related cases was more than 100."

The letter also stated that 123 fast-track courts, including 20 ePOCSO courts, were earmarked for West Bengal.