‘BJP leaders have become spokespersons of ECI’
Kolkata: Claiming that the BJP was trying to take away the fundamental rights of the people by using the Election Commission of India (ECI), Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday said that BJP leaders have become spokespersons of the poll panel, eroding its autonomy under the current government at the Centre.
Banerjee once again reminded that the Centre owes the state Rs 1,94,000 crore in funds for implementing its various schemes, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should come out and hold a press conference on this issue.
Speaking to reporters at the city airport here on his return from Delhi, Abhishek Banerjee said autonomous Central agencies like the ECI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have become stooges of the Modi government and are being used by the BJP to harass Opposition leaders like him without a shred of hard evidence. “I had once handed over my documents to the ED as part of a probe. Later, I was stunned to hear a BJP leader referring to specific details from those documents. How are BJP leaders gaining access to confidential information submitted to supposedly independent agencies?” he asked. He also called the BJP-led Centre “anti-people” as it moved the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court order directing the Centre to resume 100 days’ work in Bengal and start clearing dues from August 1.
“We are not afraid to face the electorate, unlike the BJP, which seeks to win by fraudulent means in collusion with the EC,” Banerjee said, adding: “Why are BJP leaders like Anurag Thakur speaking in favour of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise on behalf of the EC?” Taking a swipe at Thakur, he said, “BJP leaders in Delhi make tall, absurd, and bogus claims. When confronted with facts, they never own up to their mistakes. Thakur has little understanding of Bengal and its people.” He also accused Thakur of falsely claiming that bogus voters were included in the electoral rolls of Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat.
“I had submitted proof to Thakur about the existence of most of those genuine voters in my seat barring very few who had died in the meantime. There has been no word from him on the issue afterwards,” Abhishek stated.
Referring to the ECI’s directive asking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to submit an affidavit regarding his allegations of voter fraud, Banerjee said: “The Chief Election Commissioner has bypassed the main issue. The EC has the authority to act on its own and does not require a written affidavit to probe electoral malpractice.” Speaking on the issue, Abhishek Banerjee said Centre has withheld Rs 2,525 crore under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2024-25 while it was supposed to provide Rs 5,050 crore. He also claimed that the Centre gave Rs 60,000 crore to Uttar Pradesh in the last 5 years under JJM, while Bengal received only Rs 20,000 crore in the past 5 years. Banerjee also stated that his party MPs, on Monday, submitted a letter to the Union Minister of Jal Shakti, CR Patil, raising matters of grave concern. Trinamool Congress claimed that despite Bengal’s exemplary progress under Jal Swapna, with 56 per cent rural households already receiving tap water connections, the Centre continues to withhold the State’s rightful dues under the JJM.
