BJP using Central agencies to foil poll campaigns, TMC tells ECI
Kolkata: A five-member delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday met the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Delhi and submitted a complaint alleging that the BJP is using the Central probe agencies in Bengal to foil election campaigns of TMC leaders.
Trinamool leader Shashi Panja told the media: “We met the Election Commission officials and submitted a memorandum. We have sought time for discussion on the issues we have mentioned in our complaint. The commission is likely to meet us on Monday. Another delegation from our party will be present.”
Highlighting the issues mentioned in their complaint, Panja said that despite the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) being in effect in Bengal for the Lok Sabha elections, the Central probe agencies are being used politically by the BJP to harass TMC candidates and party workers to foil their election campaigns.
“Be it our candidate Mahua Moitra, minister Chandranath Sinha, or even our councillor Jui Biswas, they are all being harassed by Central agencies such as CBI, ED and the Income Tax. Even the NIA is now harassing our party workers who are now supposed to remain engaged full time for poll campaigns. This is a politically motivated move. We know the Election Commission has certain powers to ensure unbiased elections,” Panja said, adding that never before has Bengal seen such activities during elections.
Calling ‘NIA officers’ to attention, Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh, on Friday, took to social media and questioned whether two BJP leaders held two meetings with one SP D R Singh at his New Town residence and handed over a list of TMC leaders and workers for immediate summon and arrest. He said some notices have already been issued and more are to be issued on Saturday. He also questioned if a BJP leader met Singh at Nizam Palace. Ghosh questioned whether NIA is planning to raid and arrest some TMC workers on Saturday based on the list given to them by the BJP.
Further, TMC also raised their “washing machine” jibe against the BJP. It alleged that the former aviation minister Praful Patel, against whom there was a CBI probe in 2017 in connection with leasing of aircraft by National Aviation Corporation of India Ltd, joined NDA in 2023 and in 2024 CBI closed the investigation and gave a clean chit to Patel.
