Won't allow contractors to sacrifice interests of workers: Abhishek

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee sent a strong message on Saturday saying that he wouldn't allow contractors to run the show here and sacrifice the interests of the workers. "We will stop this contractor raj in the area in 100 days," he said.

"I will not accept this rule, which allows people from other states to come here, work for eight hours, do overtime for four hours and then pocket wages for 12 hours. On the other side, the locals, even after working for 12 hours, only get wages for eight hours. Locals need to be given their due wages," he said.

While addressing a public rally at Haldia in East Midnapore district, Abhishek said no contactors will be given tickets to contest the municipal elections here. Those who have joined Trinamool Congress from other parties will not get tickets in the municipal elections of Haldia. Only those who have toiled hard for the party for years will be rewarded, he asserted.

Abhishek also gave an ultimatum that contractors will be removed from important posts within the party. He categorically said locals who are working in Haldia will be given advantage so that they get their dues.

Without taking the name of the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, Abhishek hit out at the former saying that he is selling Midnapore to Delhi.

This was Abhishek's first visit to East Midnapore, considered Suvendu Adhikari's bastion, after the West Bengal elections last year.

"One person created a wall between the party and East Midnapore. Today there is no wall. Today, we have a direct relation. He (Adhikari) wanted to save himself from ED and CBI," Abhishek said.

"He made you suffer for 11 years. People have taken money under his garb. He has made crores of rupees and was seen taking money on TV," he said as he trained guns on Adhikari.

"Earlier, in the Haldia municipality, they used to burden the residents by charging development tax. In the name of development, they looted the people. There is no development tax even in Kolkata Municipal Corporation or in Bidhannagar," he stated further.

Abhishek also said: "The CBI and the ED are constantly targeting me but I have not lowered my head or cowed down. I am not afraid of any agency or probe. The ED tried to harass me by calling me to Delhi twice. I decided to give them a befitting reply by inducting two BJP MPs into the party. If we open the door of our party, their (BJP) political organisation will vanish."

Barrackpore BJP MP Arjun Singh joined the TMC last week while Babul Supriyo, who was the MP from Asansol, switched over in September last year.

Abhishek on Saturday launched an attack against a section of the judiciary. "I feel ashamed to say that there are one or two people in the judiciary who are hand in gloves and have a tacit understanding and are ordering CBI investigation in every case. This is just one per cent of the judiciary," he said. "They are ordering CBI verdicts in petty cases while putting a stay in murder cases. This is unthinkable," he added.

He also said that he is aware that he can be legally pulled up by the judiciary for such comments. "Some people might take offense. There can be legal suits against me as well. But I am not scared to speak the truth. I will say the same thing in future as well," he said. His comment comes at the backdrop of consecutive orders of Calcutta High Court for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probes, which have gone against the state government.