'Human rights condition in Bengal deplorable, worse then Emergency'

Even as the world observes the Human Rights Day, West Bengal Human Rights Commission's former chief Justice A.K. Ganguly Wednesday regretted the deplorable condition of rights in the state and blamed the Mamata Banerjee government for the prevalent lawlessness.

"Human rights condition in West Bengal is deplorable to say the least. The state has been constantly hitting the headlines for rapes, acid throwing, murders, and political clashes. The most unfortunate part is, the state government which is entrusted with protecting the rights of the people, has been acting in the most partisan way," Ganguly told IANS.

"The state is going through a phase worse than the times during the Emergency (imposed in 1975)," he said.

The former Supreme Court judge, who pronounced several high profile judgments including in the 2G spectrum scam case, lambasted the state government for making police "such inept that it was unable to protect itself".

"Not a single day passes when you don't come across incidents where people's rights have been violated. The hapless people here don't know whom to approach for redressal. This government has made the police such inept that they are finding it difficult to secure themselves," said Ganguly.

"Bombs are hurled at policemen, they are being attacked, slapped and hit. When police can't protect themselves how can the people expect protection from them?" asked Ganguly referring to recent instances of attacks on police.

Ganguly, who resigned as the rights panel chairperson in January, also lamented the lack of a "efficient forum" for the people to seek redressal for the infringements of rights.

Following his resignation, the state panel is yet to get a full time chairperson with non judicial member and former top cop Naparajit Mukherjee acting as the head in the interim.

With Ganguly at the helm, the panel was lauded by activists for taking suo motu cognisance of human rights violation cases and making recommendations that amounted to censure of the Banerjee adminstration.