Mamata: Even if a chocolate bomb explodes in Bengal, agencies like CBI, NIA & NSG are sent

Kolkata: Questioning the rationale behind deploying National Security Guard (NSG) for recovery of “ordinary firecrackers” in Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday launched a vitriolic attack on the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre and the BJP over the joint operations of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and NSG.

Banerjee also attacked the BJP’s Asansol Lok Sabha candidate SS Ahluwalia asking as to why the latter kept mum when his party leader Suvendu Adhikari branded an IPS officer as “Khalistani”.

She was addressing an election rally in Kulti in support of her party’s Asansol candidate Shatrughan Sinha.

Referring to the joint raid, Banerjee alleged that the joint operation could have been planted by the BJP and the recovered items could have been brought to the spot by the Central agencies.

“Even if a chocolate bomb explodes in Bengal, the agencies like CBI, NIA and NSG are sent here. It’s as if there is a war going on. This is one-sided as the state police force wasn’t informed. Nobody knows where it was recovered from — maybe it was brought from their own car and presented as recovered items. There is no evidence to show it was found here. It could have been anywhere”, Banerjee said.

Incidentally, the CBI reportedly recovered a cache of foreign and Indian-make firearms, explosives and crude bombs from the residence of a relative of suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan at Sandeshkhali on Friday afternoon. Later, the NSG commandos also joined CBI in the search operations.

Referring to the incident, Trinamool Congress chief accused the BJP of trying to create an air of fear in Bengal while the polls are underway. “They are trying to change the electoral game through the use of muscle and money power,” she alleged. In a post on X, Banerjee late on Friday evening said: “Nothing can save BJP’s sinking ship this time! Victory for the people is inevitable!”

Meanwhile, the TMC filed a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in the state alleging that the CBI had “deliberately carried out an unscrupulous” raid at an “empty location” in Bengal’s Sandeshkhali during the second phase of polling in the state on Friday when elections took place in Darjeeling, Raiganj, and Balurghat Lok Sabha constituencies.

Banerjee during her election rally also trained her guns on the BJP over an incident in which a blast had taken place in the house of a prominent BJP leader’s relative in North 24-Parganas’ Hingalganj. She said: “Even today, I heard there was an incident near Sandeshkhali. A BJP leader had stored bombs in his house. They think that they can win by cancelling jobs and exploding bombs. But they are wrong. This won’t work. People want Roti Kapda Makaan and jobs for the people, not their lofty speeches.”

Her party also raised questions as to why the NIA and CBI would not conduct a probe into this incident. The ruling party in Bengal also threw a challenge to Union Home minister Amit Shah to take action against the local BJP leader Nemai Das. It was Das’ relative’s house where the blast occurred.

Banerjee from the Kulti rally also attacked BJP’s Asansol candidate SS Ahluwalia asking as to why the latter kept mum when his party leader Suvendu Adhikari called an IPS officer “Khalistani”. “Why didn’t you utter a word when Gaddar (referring to Suvendu) branded a senior police officer as ‘Khalistani’. After winning, you were nowhere to be seen. You also belong to Sikh community but why were you mum?” Banerjee questioned Ahluwalia.