Kolkata: The West Bengal BJP on Tuesday raised questions about the silence of the INDIA alliance constituent Trinamool Congress over Income Tax raids on the premises linked to the family of a Congress MP in neighbouring Jharkhand.
The Congress is a major partner of the TMC in the multi-party I.N.D.I.A bloc formed to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP wondered why the Mamata Banerjee-led party has refrained from commenting on this issue, given its consistent attacks on the BJP government at the Centre over various issues.
BJP West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar said, "They (TMC) are always first to react on issues related to allegations of corruption in the BJP-ruled states. So why are they silent when a Congress MP is being accused of corruption?"
The income tax department's recent searches on an Odisha-based distillery company, owned by the family of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, resulted in the seizure of cash amounting to over Rs 350 crore. Official sources revealed that this sum is the 'highest-ever' haul in a single action by any probe agency in the country.
The raids covered the premises of the Congress MP in Ranchi and other locations.
Alleging that the TMC is 'neck-deep' in corruption, Majumdar claimed that parties embroiled in corrupt practices cannot muster the courage to criticise other leaders for similar offences.
He cited instances in West Bengal where substantial amounts of cash were recovered from the homes of TMC leaders' aides.
In response, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, 'We don't need a lesson from the BJP on how to fight against or raise our voice against corruption." Ghosh alleged that during the BJP era, residences of opposition MPs and leaders were subject to raids by central agencies, insinuating bias based on political affiliation.
Published 12 December 2023, 14:19 IST