Indian doctor’s rape-murder threatens veteran politician Mamata Banerjee’s grip on power

Protests over the murder of a doctor are intensifying pressure on West Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee’s ability to maintain law and order

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Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of India’s West Bengal state, takes part in a protest rally to condemn the rape and murder of a doctor in her state’s capital, Kolkata, on August 16. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 22 Aug 2024Updated: 6:05pm, 22 Aug 2024

Protests that erupted after the horrific rape and murder of a doctor in the eastern India city of Kolkata are intensifying pressure on the state’s minister, a federal opposition politician, Mamata Banerjee, as critics question her administration’s ability to maintain law and order.

“The protests that are happening over the case are unprecedented in nature. Pressure appears to be growing to ease her out of power as lawlessness has crept in all over the state,” said Kingshuk Nag, an independent author and political commentator.

From London to New York, people have joined candlelight vigils alongside protesters in India in a show of empathy since the horrific incident that occurred inside a government medical college earlier this month. The seriousness of the case prompted India’s Supreme Court to take the case itself, even conducting a live televised hearing on Tuesday.

The Kolkata case is now beginning to resemble the infamous Nirbhaya case of December 2012, which involved the gang rape and fatal assault of a physiotherapy intern. The incident triggered massive nationwide protests, eventually bringing down the ruling national coalition led by the Congress Party.

Banerjee is the leader of the All India Trinamool Congress Party (AITC), which controls the government in West Bengal, whose capital is Kolkata. The AITC has been one of the chief opponents of the national ruling BJP.