Humayun Kabir's video sparks political storm in West Bengal, TMC pushes for ED probe

Kolkata: A political controversy broke out in West Bengal on Thursday after a purported video of Humayun Kabir surfaced online, triggering sharp exchanges between the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the BJP and the former leader himself.

The TMC alleged that the video shows Kabir claiming links with senior BJP leaders and outlining a strategy to defeat Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the upcoming Assembly elections. The party also demanded a probe by the Enforcement Directorate into the claims made in the clip.

The video purportedly shows Kabir saying he was willing to go to "any extent" to unseat Banerjee and had been in contact with senior BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

He is also purportedly heard referring to communication with the Prime Minister’s Office and coordination with leaders from BJP-ruled states.

According to TMC leaders, the video further suggested to plan to divert minority votes away from the ruling party, with claims of a financial arrangement involving an advance of Rs 200 crore as part of a larger Rs 1,000 crore deal.

Senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim alleged that Kabir had been "working in tandem" with the BJP to mislead minority voters. He said the video "exposes a deep-rooted conspiracy" aimed at influencing the electoral outcome and warned against exploiting the sentiments of the Muslim community.

Another minister, Aroop Biswas, said, "The BJP is trying to manipulate the mandate by using proxy players. This video, if true, confirms our allegations," while also calling on AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi to clarify his party’s position.

TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh demanded a central probe, stating, "We demand a probe by the Enforcement Directorate into the issue."

Kabir, however, dismissed the allegations and termed the clip fabricated. Calling it a "pack of lies", he claimed the video was generated using artificial intelligence and accused the TMC of attempting to malign him.

"It is an attempt to malign me by the TMC, who are afraid to lose the vote of Muslims. They have insulted the community by launching such a fake video, which made light of Muslims' sentiments by putting certain statements through AI," Kabir said.

He also challenged the TMC to provide details of any such meetings and warned of legal action, including defamation cases, against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee and other party leaders if they failed to substantiate their claims.

The BJP, meanwhile, rejected the allegations, with spokesperson Debajit Sarkar accusing the TMC of resorting to "cheap theatrics" out of fear of losing power.

"While the TMC knows that they are losing ground, there is a possibility that they have a nexus with Kabir, and this is part of a got-up game to cut BJP's share of votes," he said.