Kolkata: The CPI(M) and Congress in Bengal on Friday hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it was an attempt on her part to “manage the BJP” to stall the probe. In various corruption cases by central agencies, including the school appointment scam. The TMC immediately hit back, saying the allegations were “politically motivated”.
Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and raised various issues related to his state, including GST dues and timely release of funds under various schemes by the Centre. The Prime Minister’s Office shared a picture of the meeting, which lasted for nearly an hour.
The Congress claimed that the TMC, as an “agent of the saffron camp”, was on a mission to destroy opposition unity.
“The way TMC was functioning for the last few months, it is clear that it is acting like an agent of the saffron camp. I said earlier that TMC is a Trojan horse. Now everything is clear. TMC has got it. Has entered into a pact with the BJP to save its members from CBI and ED investigations in various corruption cases,” state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
The senior Congress leader mocked the meeting as an arrangement to “manage the BJP”.
“We are apprehensive that after this meeting between the CM and the PM, the ED and other investigating agencies will proceed at a slow pace on many corruption cases in Bengal,” he said.
Similarly, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty alleged that if it was a meeting to get state dues, officials of various departments of the state government would be present there with relevant documents.
“There is no reason to think that the meeting was in the interest of the state,” claimed Chakraborty.
He said, “Now, it is clear that there is a secret agreement between the two parties. We all want to know what prompted Mamata Banerjee to go to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister when senior leaders of her party were found guilty of corruption. cases are being arrested.”
Banerjee’s meeting with the PM comes days after senior leader Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the ED in connection with its probe into the school recruitment scam. At the time of his arrest, Chatterjee was with one of the top TMC leaders and a state minister.
He was later relieved of his ministerial post and suspended from the party.
The TMC, however, termed the allegations of the Congress and CPI(M) as “baseless”.
The TMC said, “What is wrong with the Chief Minister meeting the Prime Minister on issues related to the state? This is how the federal structure works. We don’t need to take lessons from Congress and CPI(M) to oppose BJP and its policies. Is.” Leader Shantanu Sen said.
Welcoming the development, the state BJP leadership said that a chief minister can always meet the prime minister, and not much should be read into it.
“It is the most natural thing for a CM to meet the PM in a federal structure, especially for Mamata Banerjee who is known for abusing the PM in filthy language. The ‘setting’ principle was propagated by two rootless miracles- CPM and Congress. BJP state president Sukant Majumdar tweeted, a figment of his imagination (sic).
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Zee News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)