by Sandip Roy
Jun 19, 2013
Trinamool MP Saugata Roy demonstrated on television last night how NOT to defend your government’s record on rape. In a panel discussion on Face the Nation, the Trinamool MP cut a sorry figure as he was cornered by upset activists and the anchor herself.
Trinamool leaders have often stayed away from media panels where they feel they might be put on the spot. Clearly the outcry over the rapes in Bengal has been so huge, they felt compelled to send Mr Roy, a debating veteran, to do damage control. His task was to tell the public that Didi was on the ball – she had announced the charge sheet would be filed in 15 days, the case would go to a fast track court, the government would seek the death penalty for the accused, and Barasat would get more police stations.
“Not one insensitive statement should be made,” said Mr Roy on
television and then proceeded to do exactly that for the next half hour —
breaking every rule in the book.
Thou shalt not be patronising. Mr Roy tried to sound reasonable and came across as patronising of the worst sort. The panelists called him Mr Roy or Saugata-da but the professor called them all “young lady” as if they were boisterous students who needed a crash course in etiquette. Even worse, when Ghose interjected and asked him not to call them “young lady”, Mr Roy retorted “Should I call her old lady?” Clueless? Or just obdurate?
Thou shalt not dismiss poor villagers. Mr Roy, unlike some other Trinamool ministers have done in earlier rape cases, did not try to smear the victim’s character. But when asked why the chief minister after having bothered to finally go to the rape victim’s house, refused to even listen to the grievances of the village women gathered outside, he said “Young lady, please understand the people of Kamdhuni village are suffering from an exaggerated sense of self-importance.” Apparently, inadequate lighting, liquor dens, colleges where female students don’t dare stay past 3 pm are all just delusions of self-importance. And these are poor village women, hardly the elite NGO activists Mamata likes to dismiss as inconsequential. This is Mamata’s core constituency. One of the women in the village told The Times of India, “We ran after Didi just to tell our problems. We thought she would understand the village women’s fear. Instead, she treated us like dogs.”
Thou shalt not parse numbers to defend the indefensible. Confronted with the NCRB numbers that put Bengal at the top for crimes against women, Mr Roy, parroted his government’s line that the numbers are misleading. Rapes were actually down, he said, just crimes against women in general were up. “West Bengal is not bad as far as crimes against women are concerned,” he said smugly even though he admitted all rapes were “reprehensible.” It’s unbelievable that a government seems to take comfort in the logic that basically goes “Look, we aren’t that bad, we just beat women more than we gang-rape them.” What next? Rapes might be up but look, gang rapes are down.
Thou shalt go after rapists not activists. Even if a politician mistrusts an NGO’s credentials, its weakest defence is to attack the credibility of the activist raising the issue instead of tackling the issue. Saugata Roy never once said the women’s groups were misguided because they were not giving the government credit for steps it had taken. Instead when one of the panelists mentioned the group Maitree he snapped, “Do not go seeking publicity for your organization.” When a government, headed by a woman, faced with news of rapes pretty much every day, thinks the way to tackle it on a war footing is to dismiss women’s groups as “publicity seekers” it has its war footing priorities completely wrong.
Thou shalt not butter up celebrities. What was Mr Roy smoking when in an effort to be conciliatory he told Sagarika Ghose, “You know the chief minister very well. Why don’t you write a letter to the chief minister?” Panelist Pritha Sen asked shocked, “Why should Sagarika write it?” Sagarika Ghose does not even live in Bengal. Roy’s reasoning – “You are a personality. You are a celebrity.” So the chief minister who will not receive a deputation from women’s groups protesting near her house, who will dismiss village women in Kamdhuni as CPM conspirators, will listen to Sagarika about women’s safety because she is a celebrity? Was Mr Roy admitting on national television that that was the only way to get Didi to listen to her sisters?
If Mr Roy deserves any kudos for his performance on television last night, it’s that he didn’t call everyone on the panel “Maoists” and storm off as his boss might have done.
Is the Trinamool learning any lessons from this debacle? Yes, all the wrong ones.
Lesson 1: Keep blaming the CPM. Mukul Roy, the party’s general secretary tried to prove the protesting women’s CPM credentials to the media. He told The Telegraph the police had found out one woman’s husband was a CPM leader, another’s parents were active CPM workers. He didn’t clarify why the police were doing background checks on people who just wanted to ask the people’s chief minister a question. Apparently people with CPM connections in their family have no right to ask for street lights, better roads and policing.
Lesson 2: Keep silencing dissent. The Times of India reports that a day after the chief minister’s visit to Barasat, her party toughs landed up in the village looking for the mobile numbers of the women who dared to insult their “beloved chief minister.” When one of the women’s parents pleaded with folded hands to spare her, the man who had come with seven or eight goons said she had to “stand in the middle of the village courtyard and confess she had committed a grave mistake”.
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/dont-defend-rape-a-five-step-guide-for-the-trinamool-886913.html
Trinamool MP Saugata Roy demonstrated on television last night how NOT to defend your government’s record on rape. In a panel discussion on Face the Nation, the Trinamool MP cut a sorry figure as he was cornered by upset activists and the anchor herself.
Trinamool leaders have often stayed away from media panels where they feel they might be put on the spot. Clearly the outcry over the rapes in Bengal has been so huge, they felt compelled to send Mr Roy, a debating veteran, to do damage control. His task was to tell the public that Didi was on the ball – she had announced the charge sheet would be filed in 15 days, the case would go to a fast track court, the government would seek the death penalty for the accused, and Barasat would get more police stations.
Women protest the Barasat rape in Kolkata. AFP
Thou shalt not be patronising. Mr Roy tried to sound reasonable and came across as patronising of the worst sort. The panelists called him Mr Roy or Saugata-da but the professor called them all “young lady” as if they were boisterous students who needed a crash course in etiquette. Even worse, when Ghose interjected and asked him not to call them “young lady”, Mr Roy retorted “Should I call her old lady?” Clueless? Or just obdurate?
Thou shalt not dismiss poor villagers. Mr Roy, unlike some other Trinamool ministers have done in earlier rape cases, did not try to smear the victim’s character. But when asked why the chief minister after having bothered to finally go to the rape victim’s house, refused to even listen to the grievances of the village women gathered outside, he said “Young lady, please understand the people of Kamdhuni village are suffering from an exaggerated sense of self-importance.” Apparently, inadequate lighting, liquor dens, colleges where female students don’t dare stay past 3 pm are all just delusions of self-importance. And these are poor village women, hardly the elite NGO activists Mamata likes to dismiss as inconsequential. This is Mamata’s core constituency. One of the women in the village told The Times of India, “We ran after Didi just to tell our problems. We thought she would understand the village women’s fear. Instead, she treated us like dogs.”
Thou shalt not parse numbers to defend the indefensible. Confronted with the NCRB numbers that put Bengal at the top for crimes against women, Mr Roy, parroted his government’s line that the numbers are misleading. Rapes were actually down, he said, just crimes against women in general were up. “West Bengal is not bad as far as crimes against women are concerned,” he said smugly even though he admitted all rapes were “reprehensible.” It’s unbelievable that a government seems to take comfort in the logic that basically goes “Look, we aren’t that bad, we just beat women more than we gang-rape them.” What next? Rapes might be up but look, gang rapes are down.
Thou shalt go after rapists not activists. Even if a politician mistrusts an NGO’s credentials, its weakest defence is to attack the credibility of the activist raising the issue instead of tackling the issue. Saugata Roy never once said the women’s groups were misguided because they were not giving the government credit for steps it had taken. Instead when one of the panelists mentioned the group Maitree he snapped, “Do not go seeking publicity for your organization.” When a government, headed by a woman, faced with news of rapes pretty much every day, thinks the way to tackle it on a war footing is to dismiss women’s groups as “publicity seekers” it has its war footing priorities completely wrong.
Thou shalt not butter up celebrities. What was Mr Roy smoking when in an effort to be conciliatory he told Sagarika Ghose, “You know the chief minister very well. Why don’t you write a letter to the chief minister?” Panelist Pritha Sen asked shocked, “Why should Sagarika write it?” Sagarika Ghose does not even live in Bengal. Roy’s reasoning – “You are a personality. You are a celebrity.” So the chief minister who will not receive a deputation from women’s groups protesting near her house, who will dismiss village women in Kamdhuni as CPM conspirators, will listen to Sagarika about women’s safety because she is a celebrity? Was Mr Roy admitting on national television that that was the only way to get Didi to listen to her sisters?
If Mr Roy deserves any kudos for his performance on television last night, it’s that he didn’t call everyone on the panel “Maoists” and storm off as his boss might have done.
Is the Trinamool learning any lessons from this debacle? Yes, all the wrong ones.
Lesson 1: Keep blaming the CPM. Mukul Roy, the party’s general secretary tried to prove the protesting women’s CPM credentials to the media. He told The Telegraph the police had found out one woman’s husband was a CPM leader, another’s parents were active CPM workers. He didn’t clarify why the police were doing background checks on people who just wanted to ask the people’s chief minister a question. Apparently people with CPM connections in their family have no right to ask for street lights, better roads and policing.
Lesson 2: Keep silencing dissent. The Times of India reports that a day after the chief minister’s visit to Barasat, her party toughs landed up in the village looking for the mobile numbers of the women who dared to insult their “beloved chief minister.” When one of the women’s parents pleaded with folded hands to spare her, the man who had come with seven or eight goons said she had to “stand in the middle of the village courtyard and confess she had committed a grave mistake”.
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/dont-defend-rape-a-five-step-guide-for-the-trinamool-886913.html
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