London: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced protests from leftist student activists during her address at Kellogg College in Oxford University on Thursday.
The protestors, who belonged to the Students Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI(M), raised issues regarding the violence during the panchayat elections held in 2023, the rape of a certain TMC leader's son, and Banerjee's remark on rape in 2012.
The Chief Minister was therefore not in any way intimidated by the protest; on the contrary, she met them with grace while calmly responding to their allegations. “You are welcoming me, thank you. I will feed you sweets,” she said as she kept her calm and told them that their accusations about the RG Kar rape case were not true and that the case was being investigated by the Central Government. She also urged that that platform should not be used for political purposes.
A protestor challenged her, saying she had issued threats of violence, which Banerjee resolutely denied and labeled "a lie." Even as witnessed, a U.N. observer was present, she instead requested the students to divert their attention from confronting her at Oxford and unite against communal people in Bengal.
Banerjee also recalled with pain how an attempt was made on her life political rivals tried to kill her about 1990" When, in visible emotion, Banerjee showed a photograph" from 1990 with serious injuries.
In her concluding remarks, Banerjee reaffirmed her commitment by saying that "Didi walks like a Royal Bengal Tiger," an assertion that established her unwavering commitment in the face of protest. She stressed that she would fight for the cause of all communities and said that she had little to worry about political opponents.
[Source Credit: NDTV]
