West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata on Friday that the rising number of rape cases was connected to increasing population.
“You say rape incidents are on the rise. But the population is also swelling. Is the population in the state the same as it was during the tenure of (the state’s second chief minister) BC Roy?” she said.
“There are more cars now. Shopping malls are increasing. Young boys and girls are becoming more modern,” Banerjee told opposition members while closing the debate on the governor’s address in the assembly.
Banerjee added that earlier women were too shy to lodge complaints. “But they are now coming out to register their complaints. This is a good sign for society.”
She said that her government did not want even one instance of rape in the state.
Giving last year’s comparative figures, the chief minister said Kolkata recorded 45 rape cases till November 2012 and Delhi 621.
In 2007, 44 rape cases were registered in Kolkata, which saw 35 such cases in 2008, 42 in 2009, 32 in 2010 and 38 in 2011.
