Union culture minister Meenakshi Lekhi on Friday took a potshot at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, saying that the ‘lackadaisical approach’ of the West Bengal administration had enhanced the confidence of perpetrators who indulge in crime against women.

A land which is known as ‘Maa Maati Manush’ (Mother, land, and People) has converted itself under the awful administration of the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) into ‘Bomb Bullet and Beti ke Sath Anyay’ (crime against women),” Lekhi said while addressing a media briefing in New Delhi on Friday.

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“In 2022, within 40 days, 15 cases of women rape had taken place (in West Bengal) which continue to be the case till today,” Lekhi said.

Speaking about the alleged murder of a 20-year-old woman near the India-Bangladesh border in North 24-Parganas, Lekhi said such incidents showcase that the safety of women is at stake under CM Banerjee-led government.