Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, Mahua Moitra and Partha Bhowmick launched a blistering attack on Union Home minister Amit Shah ahead of his visit to Bengal.
During a press conference on Thursday, both the leaders put a series of questions to Shah as to why no action was taken against Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari who, Trinamool claimed, was an accused in an ongoing CBI investigation.
“How can you have a corrupt Leader of Opposition in Bengal while repeatedly claiming that the BJP does not endorse corruption? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he runs a corruption-free government and anybody with the slightest stain of corruption will have no place in the party. But the leader of Opposition in Bengal, Adhikari is an accused in an ongoing CBI investigation,” the Trinamool Congress leaders asked Shah.
Moitra and Bhowmick also said that when Adhikari was in Trinamool, he was attacked by the BJP and was labelled as a beacon of corruption. But the minute he switched to BJP, he was whitewashed using BJP’s super-effective washing machine.
“PM Modi claimed that no corrupt person should be spared, no matter the position or the power they hold. How can the Prime Minister make such big claims when Saradha and Narada are still in the BJP despite having their names in the CBI records?” asked the TMC leaders.
Bhowmick alleged that the mid-day meal report was prepared at the BJP’s party office and the Adhikari has been instrumental behind this. Even if the BJP puts 213 Trinamool Congress MLAs behind the bar, BJPs chariot will be sunk in the land of Bengal by one person — Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee,” asserted Bhowmick.
They also attacked Adhikari by saying: “It has emerged that the same leader took bribes from TET candidates for jobs. Why isn’t the CBI questioning him? 55 people, whose appointments to various positions in the government administration were cancelled by Calcutta High Court, were recommended by Adhikari. Should these facts not warrant an interrogation?”
they asked.
They further alleged that in November 2022, “CBI officials recovered a deed of BJP leader Dilip Ghosh from Prasanna Roy’s residence, who is the accused in the SSC scam. Ghosh also admitted his acquaintance with Roy. Why aren’t Central investigative agencies probing this? When questioned on Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s corruption cases, Home minister Shah refused to answer.”
Moitra and Bhowmick also raised questions on how a Union minister met a coal mafia during his visit to
West Bengal.
“In November 2022, during his Bengal visit, Union minister Pralhad Joshi met a tainted coal mafia Joydeb Khan. We want to ask Amit Shah, what is this mafia-minister nexus? Despite being a part of the coal mafia, Raju Jha joined BJP under Dilip Ghosh’s patronage ahead of the 2021 elections amid Kailash Vijayvargiya’s presence. Shortly after this, money was recovered from Dilip Ghosh’s aide,” Trinamool Congress alleged.
“The murder of the same mafia (Jha) days before his ED questioning raises suspicion. Was somebody afraid of being exposed? Were they afraid that the country would know which BJP leaders were collecting money from Bengal?” asked the leaders.