ED raid: Mamata threatens to lodge FIR if harm befalls Jyotipriya due to raid

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday threatened to lodge an FIR against the BJP and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) if any harm befell her cabinet minister, Jyotipriya Mallick, during the search operation at his Salt Lake BC block residence.

The ED raided the residence of Jyotipriyo Mullick, Forest department minister, and the residence of his personal assistant. Raids were conducted at eight places, including a few flats in Nagerbazar area in connection with a case related to alleged corruption in distribution of ration. Jyotipriyo was the former minister of the Food and Supplies department.

Questioning why no such raids take place at the residence of BJP ministers, Mamata accused BJP-led Central government of using central probe agencies against Opposition parties for “political vendetta”.

Referring to her cabinet minister (Jyotipriya) by his nickname ‘Balu’, she said: “Balu has blood sugar and he is unwell. If he dies, then I will lodge an FIR against BJP as well as ED.” She explained that her concern stemmed from the death of her late party MP Sultan Ahmed who died of a cardiac arrest at his residence after receiving a letter from CBI.

Banerjee said that her party members had gone to Jyotipriyo’s residence to exchange greetings but were surprised to find that a raid was afoot. “If such a raid is conducted in every minister’s house then what is left in the functioning of a state government?” Mamata asked, and warned that the ruling party at the Centre is crossing limits.

She recalled how raids were also recently conducted at the residences of Food and Supplies department minister Rathin Ghosh and Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department minister Firhad Hakim. She claimed Hakim;’s wife told her how the ED officers allegedly rummaged through cooking ingredients and women’s wardrobe and photographed it before listing the items.

“It (raids) is being unleashed not only in Bengal but also in other non-BJP states ahead of the Lok Sabha election which is expected to be declared in 4 to 5 months. I want to ask whether there has been a single such raid at any BJP leader’s residence? BJP says it wants Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas, but actually means Sabka Sath Sabka Satyanash,’’ she said.

ED on Thursday also raided the premises of Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra in Jaipur and Sikar as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged examination paper leak case.

Likening the BJP to Muhammad bin Tughluq and British colonialists, Banerjee accused the centre of attempting to change the country’s history by taking a series of ill-conceived decisions, including demonetisation and the introduction of GST. She also criticized the move by NCERT to replace the ‘India’ with ‘Bharat’ in school textbooks. Banerjee said: “What is NCERT? Who runs it? It’s a part and parcel of the government. Suddenly they asked to remove India’s name and put Bharat instead. India and Bharat both will stay. They are sending a circular to remove ‘India. Why so much fear?Because we have an Opposition front named INDIA? We also have a tagline “Jeetega Bharat”

Banerjee also berated the BJP for politicising Durga Puja while accusing the Union government of trying to manipulate lower courts and intimidate judges.

“I have full respect for the judiciary. I have nothing to say relating to the Supreme Court but directions to the lower courts come directly from the BJP main office. Drafts come from there. They (BJP) try to create pressure upon the judiciary in these courts and when anyone is vocal, they will pass over the buck to these courts,” she said.