Mamata Banerjee Heckled at Oxford Event Over RG Kar Case, Singur Protests Erupt

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was heckled by protesting students during her speech at Kellogg College, Oxford University, on Thursday, where she was addressing ‘Social Development – Girl, Child and Women Empowerment in West Bengal.’ The event turned chaotic as students confronted her on the RG Kar rape case, the Singur Tata pullout, and issues of student democracy in the state. Banerjee urged the protesters not to politicize the platform, emphasizing her role as a representative of India.

The students interrupted Banerjee’s speech, questioning her handling of the August 2024 RG Kar rape case and the 2008 Singur protests that led to Tata’s withdrawal from West Bengal. Banerjee responded, “The responsibility of investigating this case is now in the hands of the Central government, the case is no longer in our hands.” On Singur, she claimed, “Tata has already started Tata Cognizant… they set up their industry in Kharagpur last year.”

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The protesters, led by the Students’ Federation of India – United Kingdom, also raised concerns about the Jadavpur University protests and the lack of student elections in West Bengal for six years. They questioned the state’s rising female school dropout rate and high child marriage incidences. Banerjee retorted, “Don’t do politics here… go to Bengal and tell your party to strengthen itself so that they can fight with us.”

Amid the chaos, Banerjee emphasized unity, stating, “If I die, before my death, I want to see unity. Unity is our strength and divide is our fall.” She added, “When I am in the Chair, I cannot divide the society… we have to work for all religions, castes, and creeds together.” She also offered land for an Oxford institute in Kolkata, urging the university to set up a campus there.

Banerjee, currently on an official visit to the UK, is expected to return to India between March 28 and 29. The protests have drawn attention to ongoing issues in West Bengal, with the BJP’s Amit Malviya criticizing her on social media. The incident may fuel further political debates in the state, especially with the RG Kar case and student unrest remaining unresolved. Updates on her engagements in the UK are awaited.