‘Balatkari Bachao Is TMC SOP’: BJP Slams Kakoli Dastidar Over ‘Rapes Happen Everywhere’ Remark

Last Updated:October 13, 2025, 09:23 IST

Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the ruling party had a history of victim-blaming, citing the Park Street, Hanskhali, and Sandeshkhali cases as examples.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla (left) calls out TMC MP Kakoli Dastidar (Right)

The political storm over the Durgapur rape case has deepened after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s comments ‘rapes happen everywhere’ drew widespread outrage. Her remarks, coming soon after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s contentious statement on the incident, have been labelled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as “outrageous" and “shocking."

Dastidar, while responding to questions from reporters, stated, “If you look at statistics, incidents like one or two rapes will inevitably happen. There is no country where rape does not occur. We have introduced the Aparajita Bill." Her statement, seemingly downplaying the gravity of sexual violence, has triggered severe criticism.

BJP slams Opposition

Reacting sharply, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the TMC of normalising rape culture in West Bengal. “After the outrageous and shocking comments by Mamata Banerjee, where she blamed the victim, now TMC’s Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar justifies gang rape saying ‘rapes happen everywhere’. Balatkari Bachao, not Beti Bachao, seems to be the TMC’s standard operating procedure," he said in a post on X.

Poonawalla alleged that the ruling party had a history of victim-blaming, citing the Park Street, Hanskhali, and Sandeshkhali cases as examples and condemned what he called the “complete breakdown of law and order" under Mamata Banerjee’s government.

He further attacked the Congress leadership for maintaining silence, saying, “A Dalit girl is brutalised; such shocking comments come from the CM and a TMC MP, but there’s pin-drop silence from the ‘Ladki Hoon’ ecosystem – Priyanka Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, and others."

TMC under fire

Dastidar’s remarks have renewed criticism of the TMC’s approach to women’s safety and justice. 

BJP has also pointed to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s earlier statement, in which she questioned why the victim was outside the campus at 12:30 a.m., as evidence of a “pattern of insensitivity" within the TMC’s leadership. Banerjee’s comments, viewed as victim-blaming, sparked an earlier wave of backlash from opposition parties.

Shuddhanta Patra

Shuddhanta Patra, a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience, serves as Senior Sub‑Editor at CNN News 18. With expertise across national politics, geopolitics, business news, she has influenced public...Read More

Shuddhanta Patra, a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience, serves as Senior Sub‑Editor at CNN News 18. With expertise across national politics, geopolitics, business news, she has influenced public...

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News india ‘Balatkari Bachao Is TMC SOP’: BJP Slams Kakoli Dastidar Over ‘Rapes Happen Everywhere’ Remark

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