The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday strongly condemned the public release of a video showing Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s phone conversation with the Durgapur gang rape survivor.
Senior leaders of the Biju Mahila Janata Dal (BMJD), the BJD’s women’s wing, held a press conference in Bhubaneswar, alleging that making the video public violates Supreme Court guidelines.
BJD senior general secretary Lekhasri Samantsinghar stated, “The BJD strongly condemns the CM’s action of making the video of his conversation with the victim public. The party also deeply condemns attempts to politicise this incident.”
The BJD leaders were criticising to a video of the CM making a phone call to the rape survivor on Monday evening from his office in Bhubaneswar.
In the video, CM Majhi could be seen calling the survivor over phone from his Bhubaneswar office, assuring her of state government support, and inquiring about her health and the continuation of her MBBS studies.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), meanwhile, clarified that the Supreme Court guideline restricts the disclosure of the victim’s identity, not the fact of the conversation.
The CMO stated, “This is not a video call. It was an audio call. There’s no mention of the victim’s name, either or any other information on her identity. The video is open in the media for study. Therefore, no violation of any guideline of the Supreme Court.”
The CMO further argued that Majhi’s conversation actually “boosted the morale” of the survivor and encouraged her to face the situation with courage.
Earlier in the day, at a press conference, BJD general secretary Tukuni Sahu condemned the Durgapur incident and alleged that the chief minister has shown no concern for the victims of such crimes in Odisha.
“While the incident in West Bengal is indeed deplorable and painful, the manner in which Chief Minister Mohan Majhi made the recording of his conversation with the victim public is even more condemnable,” Sahu said.
BMJD general secretary Sumitra Jena emphasized that by circulating the recording, the CM violated apex court guidelines that mandate that the victim’s identity or any conversation with her should not be made public.
“As per Supreme Court guidelines, the victim’s identity or any conversation with her should not be made public. Hence, by circulating the recording through media, the CM has violated the apex court’s guidelines,” Jena alleged.
BJD Rajya Sabha MP Sulata Deo claimed the CM’s “sudden sympathy in the West Bengal case is purely politically motivated,” given his previous silence on numerous rape cases in Odisha. Deo further criticized the promptness of the State and National Women’s Commissions in the Durgapur case, which she said was missing in similar Odisha cases, labelling the BJP’s actions as “politicising their pain.”
Samantsinghar said that the way BJP leaders, including Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, rushed to West Bengal to meet the victim felt like a scene of “rape tourism”.
She said that it is a fact that the law and order situation in West Bengal is poor, but the situation in Odisha is even worse. “Women in Odisha, too, are increasingly unsafe. In this context, the chief minister’s actions are highly condemnable,” she said.
In a separate press conference, Odisha BJP Mahila Morcha president Aishwarya Biswal termed the Durgapur gang rape a “shame” and strongly condemned West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s controversial statement regarding women and girls going out at night.
“Mamata Banerjee’s statement is highly condemnable. As a woman, Mamata Banerjee’s comments against women are indecent behaviour…,” she said.
