FIR Filed Against TMC MLA Lovely Maitra Over Her 'Doctors Have Become Butchers' Remark

Kolkata: Trouble continues to mount for Trinamool Congress MLA Arundhuti Maitra, aka Lovely Maitra as a case has been filed against her over her disgraceful remarks on doctors protesting in the Kolkata rape and murder case where she compared doctors to "butchers."

The incident came to light, after a BJP leader Keya Ghosh, shared the video of Lovely Maitra and said, "TMC MLA Lovely Maitra now compares doctors with butchers! Sincerely hope if god forbid Lovely Moitra falls ill, she won't go to any of these 'butchers' for her treatment. Also, did I mention that her husband is an IPS officer serving under TMC Govt?"  

In the purported video of Lovely, the TMC MLA can be heard saying, "Day by day, doctors are turning into butchers. What are they doing in the name of protest? The poorest of the poor who come from rural areas and cannot afford treatment at private hospitals are suffering due to a lack of medical care in government hospitals. They are not getting any treatment. Are these people humane? Are these people human? Doctors are turning into butchers."

Ghosh also shared another video of accusing Lovely of threatening the protesting doctors. In the post he said, "The MLA didn't stop at calling the doctors butchers. She even claimed to know how to 'lower' the fingers pointing at Mamata Banerjee."

TMC Reacts to Lovely's Remarks

Following the massive uproar over Lovely's remark, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has warned his party members to avoid igniting rage.

"Public representatives across party lines need to be more HUMBLE and SYMPATHETIC. I urge everyone in @AITCofficial not to speak ill of anyone from the MEDICAL FRATERNITY OR CIVIL SOCIETY. Everyone has the right to protest and express themselves— This is what sets West Bengal apart from other BJP-ruled states. We have wholeheartedly fought against the BULLDOZER MODEL AND OPPRESSION TACTICS of politics. Now is the time for constructive actions to ensure such horrific incidents are not repeated. Bengal must stand united in this fight and not stop until the perpetrators are punished and an ANTI-RAPE Time Bound law is enacted by both the states and Union government," he said in a post.

Lovely Issues Clarification

As her remarks sparked massive controversy, the TMC MLA was compelled to issue a clarification.

She stated, "Doctors are gods, and the poor see them as such. However, given the nature of their protest, I hope they continue to be recognized as doctors. Why are they going to Lalbazar instead of the CBI? We also want capital punishment."

This comes as, despite the Supreme Court's request for them to return to work, the nationwide protests by doctors continues. On Tuesday, doctors across Kolkata formed a 13-km-long human chain to seek justice for ‘Abhaya.’