The picture of a burqa-clad woman, along with a caption saying that women were safe behind the veils, appeared in the West Bengal Government’s official website on Sunday. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership said the site was hacked.
The picture appeared in the image gallery section of the State Government’s official website ‘Banglar Mukh’ (Face of Bengal). While at the top of the picture it was written that “only parda is a safe shelter”, the caption at the bottom asks: “Like oysters that are safe in their shells, are not women safe when they are behind the parda”? The State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party passed the image and the message to the media. ‘Banglar Mukh’, launched after the TMC came to power in the State, contains details about various government projects and departments.
Asked about the incident, TMC national spokesperson and party MP Derek O’ Brien said that officials told him that the website was hacked. “The Principal Secretary told me that the site was hacked. They are blocking access to it and taking necessary action,” he told The Hindu in a text message. The police, however, remained tight-lipped on the matter.
