India News | TMC Labels CBI Raids as 'vendetta Politics', BJP Dismisses Allegations
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The TMC denounced the CBI searches at the residences of several party leaders for their alleged involvement in irregularities in school recruitment in West Bengal, characterising such operations by the central agency as "vendetta politics" and a desperate manoeuvre by the BJP to divert attention from Amit Shah's "flop rally" here a day before.
Kolkata, Nov 30 (PTI) The TMC denounced the CBI searches at the residences of several party leaders for their alleged involvement in irregularities in school recruitment in West Bengal, characterising such operations by the central agency as "vendetta politics" and a desperate manoeuvre by the BJP to divert attention from Amit Shah's "flop rally" here a day before.
The Central Bureau of Investigation carried out simultaneous raids at the residences of Trinamool Congress leaders, including Jafikul Islam, the MLA of Domkal in Murshidabad district, and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) councillor Bappaditya Dasgupta and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation councillor Debraj Chakraborty, officials of the probe agency said.
Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh asserted that these searches were an "attempt to divert the public and media's attention from various burning issues". "The BJP appears to be sensing growing public discontent, and they are using every means at their disposal to change the narrative. This is a clear example of vendetta politics," he said.
Describing the BJP's rally, which was addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Kolkata on Wednesday, as a "flop" meeting, the TMC leader said the saffron party is "now trying to divert attention from its failure to make the rally a grand success".
"The biggest proof that Amit Shah's meeting was a super flop is that he did not even mention his '35-Lok Sabha seat target' even once. He is well aware of multiple reports from various quarters and has hence understood that the BJP has no chance in Bengal in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," Ghosh said.
Shah at a rally in April had set a target of winning more than 35 seats from the state. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the BJP secured 18, out of the 42 constituencies, in West Bengal.
However, the West Bengal BJP dismissed the TMC's allegations as "baseless".
BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, "Whenever the ED or CBI raids TMC leaders' premises, they cry foul and accuse the search operations of being politically motivated. Yet, the reality is that the TMC is deeply mired in corruption, with nearly every leader facing corruption charges."
Senior TMC leaders Partha Chatterjee, Jyoti Priya Mallick and Anubrata Mondal have been arrested by the central agencies in various corruption cases.
Recently, the central agencies also conducted searches at various locations, including the residences of Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, in connection with the probe into the alleged irregularities in recruitment in municipalities.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)