'Why So Much Hate': BJP Hits Out At TMC Leader For 'Butcher' Comment Against Doctors On Protest, She Clarifies

In a fresh controversy over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader stirred a row after she compared junior doctors on protest to “butchers”.

In a video, widely shared on the internet, actor-turned-politician, Lovely Maitra, alleged that doctors were no longer interested in doing their job and, instead, have “turned into butchers”.

The video was shared by national BJP spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, on social media and purportedly showed Maitra delivering a speech at a party programme two days ago.

“Doctors are turning into butchers in the name of protests. The poor and underprivileged people who come from interior parts, rural areas of Bengal seeking medical treatment at government hospitals, who cannot afford treatment at private hospitals, are suffering. They are not being treated… are they (doctors) human? Is this humane?” she was heard saying in the video in Bangla.

Sharing the video, Poonawalla asked why Maitra was displaying so much hatred for the protesters demanding justice for the woman doctor.

“Why so much hate against protesting doctors?” he asked in a post on X.

In the same speech, the TMC leader also talked about “revenge” against those who “point a finger at (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee”.

In another video clip from the same programme, she targeted the Communist Party Of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], saying, “In 2011, we said no revenge but change; now we are saying that in 2024 there will be revenge, we know how to deal with those who point a finger at Mamata Banerjee. We are not weak.”

Watch the video here:

(News18 could not independently verify the authenticity of the video).

Reacting to the criticism, Maitra issued a clarification, and said, “Doctors are Gods, poor people consider doctors as Gods. But, the way they are protesting, I hope they’re not called anything other than doctors.”

“Why are they going to Lalbazar, why not the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)? We want capital punishment too,” she said at a press conference on Tuesday (September 3).

However, later, a complaint against Maitra was lodged at the Sonarpur Police Station in Bengal, over her “revenge” remark.

Responding to the controversy, sources in the TMC said she has been asked by the leadership to refrain from making such comments going forward.

But, it looks like the damage has been done.

Maitra’s comments became political fodder for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which highlighted other similar controversial statements by TMC leaders over the past few days as junior doctors continued their protest.

Poonawalla said Maitra, who “happens to be the wife of an Indian Police Service (IPS) in Kolkata, who has been issuing notices and summons to doctors”, is another TMC leader who is speaking against the agitators because the doctors are holding the Mamata Banerjee-led government and the police force accountable.

“Udayan Guha Arup Chakraborthy Kunal Ghosh Now Lovely Maitra! Will TMC sack her or defend her like it defended Dr Sandip Ghose?” he asked.