TMC distances itself from Madan Mitra’s remarks on Law student’s gangrape, seeks explanation

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress on Sunday has issued a show cause notice to its party leader and Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra following his “unwanted, unnecessary, and insensitive comments” on the alleged gangrape of a law student from South Calcutta Law College in Kolkata’s Kasba area on June 25. The notice, signed by West Bengal TMC President.

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress on Sunday has issued a show cause notice to its party leader and Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra following his “unwanted, unnecessary, and insensitive comments” on the alleged gangrape of a law student from South Calcutta Law College in Kolkata’s Kasba area on June 25.

The notice, signed by West Bengal TMC President and Rajya Sabha MP Subrata Bakshi, demands an explanation within three days from Mitra for breaching party discipline, following his remarks on the incident that were widely criticised for victim-blaming.

“A very heinous and extremely sad incident has taken place against a law student in the town of Kolkata. The top leadership of the party has expressed special sorrow over this very sensitive incident of sad and brutal torture and has strongly condemned this incident. The administration is taking necessary action. The miscreants have been identified and arrested promptly,” the letter read.

“Your unwanted, unnecessary and insensitive comments on 28th June 2025 in this regard have hurt the image of our party in every way. At the same time, your comments have gone against the strict stand of the party. You are ordered to show cause within the next three days for this behaviour of breach of party discipline,” it added.

The controversy erupted after Mitra’s comment, where he suggested that the incident could have been avoided if the victim had not gone alone to the location.

“This incident has sent a message to girls that if someone calls you when the college is closed… nothing good will come of it. If that girl had not gone there, this wouldn’t have happened. If she had informed someone before going or had taken a couple of friends with her, then this wouldn’t have happened,” Mitra said on Saturday.

Earlier, on June 25, a female student was allegedly gang-raped inside the South Calcutta Law College in Kolkata’s Kasba area.

The police have arrested three persons, including the main accused, and a five-member Special team has been formed to investigate the incident.