NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday lashed out at Trinamool Congress (TMC) following a remark by state irrigation minister Manas Bhuniya, in which he appeared to downplay the alleged gang rape of a 24-year-old law student in Kolkata’s Kasba area.In a video shared by BJP’s Amit Malviya on X, Bhuniya is heard saying: “When they look at Bengal, even if there is a small incident they say ‘gaya gaya gaya re’, what a destruction. Incidents happen, it happens in everyone’s families, husband kills a wife choking her with a pillow, wife goes on a trip with her lover and pushes the husband off a cliff. These are the crisis of the society.”Malviya responded sharply, accusing the TMC of normalising sexual violence to shield party loyalists. “As the entire nation reels in horror over the unspeakable brutality inflicted upon the 24-year-old law aspirant, TMC leaders are busy normalising rape to earn brownie points from their political boss — Mamata Banerjee,” he wrote.Referring to previous remarks made by other senior TMC leaders, Malviya added: “First, TMC’s Madan Mitra, infamous for his own vulgarities, blamed the victim for her fate! Then, sitting MP Kalyan Banerjee followed, trivialising the incident with the absurd remark: ‘What can be done if a friend rapes a friend?’ Now, State Irrigation Minister Manas Bhunia, another face of this depraved regime, brushed off the atrocity as a ‘small incident’ and urged party workers to ignore it and move forward — drawing strength from Mamata Banerjee’s silence and tacit approval.”BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul also weighed in: “State Minister Manas Bhunia calls the brutal Kasba Law College rape a ‘small’ incident. This shameless remark exposes TMC’s true mindset towards women. It shows exactly how they view our mothers and sisters — with utter disregard and disrespect.”In response to the uproar, Bhuniya issued a clarification, saying: “Our party strongly condemns the Kasba incident. I, Manas Bhunia, also strongly condemn it. The police have taken prompt action and made immediate arrests. Our Chief Minister does not tolerate such incidents. I would like to clarify that my previous comments were not related to the Kasba incident. They have been misrepresented and linked to the unfortunate incident in an attempt to malign and defame me. I reiterate — I strongly condemn this incident.”The controversy follows an earlier backlash against TMC MLA Madan Mitra, who had questioned why the rape survivor had gone to the law college campus “alone.” Mitra later submitted an unconditional apology to the party leadership after being served a show-cause notice.The alleged gang rape, which took place on June 25 inside South Calcutta Law College, has sparked widespread outrage. Students have staged protests demanding justice and stronger campus security, while several of the accused, including a former student and two current students, have been arrested.