New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) Trinamool Congress leaders on Monday took a swipe at the National Commission for Women, calling it the “BJP’s women wing”, and questioned its neutrality after a team led by NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar visited the violence-hit areas in West Bengal.

The ruling party of West Bengal alleged that the NCW was following the Sandeshkhali script and women were made to sign blank papers in an attempt to concoct charges.

There was no immediate reaction from the NCW.

“The NCW last seen in Sandeshkhali coercing women to sign blank sheets of paper on fake rape charges, is now in Malda/ Murshidabad. More blank sheets of paper ahead?” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said in a post on X.

“Additionally: NCW Member Archana Majumdar stood as a BJP candidate in 2021 Bengal Assembly polls and lost. Do we really expect an objective ‘report’ from BJP Mahila wing, sorry, NCW (sic)?” she said.

TMC Lok Sabha MP Dola Sen spoke on similar lines.

“Last time National Commission for Women visited Bengal, they coerced the women of Sandeshkhali’s into signing blank papers to cook up rape charges on the instructions of BJP. Now, their focus has shifted to Malda and Murshidabad,” Sen said in a statement.

Last year, allegations of sexual abuse against Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders in Sandeshkhali had surfaced, but Mamata Banerjee — the party chief and West Bengal chief minister — had termed it as a conspiracy by the BJP to malign the state.

“The pen’s ready. The orders are in. Whitepapers 2.0 is in the works. The draft version has been prepared by BJP-RSS. Why were the women asked to sign blank papers? We demand an answer,” she said.

A team of the women’s rights body led by the chairperson undertook a three-day visit to the areas of West Bengal’s Malda and Murshidabad districts that were affected by violence during the protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

Talking to media persons in Kolkata on Sunday, Rahatkar urged the West Bengal government to “act urgently” to address the grievances of those hit by the riots.

The panel will prepare a report that will be submitted to the Centre and its copies will be sent to the Director General of Police and the Chief Secretary of West Bengal soon, she said as the visit concluded on Sunday.

Rahatkar said that the torture and suffering faced by the affected families was “beyond imagination, having left a deep scar in their minds which need to be healed and addressed on an urgent basis with a humanitarian approach”. PTI AO RT