TMC MLA Lovely Maitra in trouble after ‘butchers’ comment about protesting doctors

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Arundhati Maitra, widely known as Lovely Maitra, has landed in hot water after allegedly calling doctors protesting against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital ‘butchers’, citing the impact of their strike on poor seeking healthcare.

In videos posted on the social media site X (formerly known as Twitter), BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala raised the issue with Maitra's statements, writing, “TMC MLA Lovely Maitra compares protesting Doctors to butchers. She also happens to be wife of an IPS in Kolkata Police who have been issuing notices and summons to doctors.”

“Why so much hate against protesting doctors? Just because they are holding Mamata Govt and her police force accountable?” he questioned.

He also took a jab at the TMC, asking whether the party would "sack or defend her (Maitra)" like the former principal of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the alleged rape and murder of a resident trainee doctor took place on August 9.

What did Maitra say?

In the video posted by Poonawala, the TMC MLA from Sonarpur South assembly seat of the South 24 Parganas district can be heard speaking in Bangla at a recent party programme.

“Doctors are turning into butchers in the name of protests. The poor and underprivileged people who come from interior parts, rural areas of Bengal, seek medical treatment at government hospitals. Those who cannot afford treatment at private hospitals are suffering. They are not being treated. Are they (doctors) human? Is this humane?” she purportedly said in Bangla, as per a Hindustan Times report.

In another video from the same event, Maitra reportedly made a veiled threat to the CPI(M) in West Bengal, warning them of revenge in 2024, the HT report added.

Maitra's clarification

At a press conference on Tuesday, September 3, Maitra sought to clarify her comments, News18 reported.

"Doctors are Gods, poor people consider doctors as Gods. But the way they are protesting, I hope they’re not called anything other than doctors. Why are they going to Lalbazar, why not the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation)? We want capital punishment too,” she stated at the press meet, News18 said.

News18, citing a TMC source, said that her party has asked Maitra to "refrain from making such comments going forward".

There is, however, legal action already initiated against Maitra. A lawyer has lodged a complaint against her with the Sonarpur Police Station in West Bengal over her “revenge” remark, the HT report added.