Kolkata, 08 January (H.S.):
West Bengal BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Shamik Bhattacharya on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that her intervention during Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids amounted to an assault on democracy and the rule of law.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP’s state headquarters in Salt Lake, Bhattacharya said that for a Chief Minister holding a constitutional office to directly interfere in the criminal investigation of a central agency was “completely illegal, unethical and a dangerous precedent for a democratic system.”
He alleged that the removal of important files and hard disks from the raided premises clearly indicated the Trinamool Congress’s deep links with corruption and its attempts to shield those involved. Bhattacharya claimed that several TMC leaders and the entire ruling establishment were allegedly linked to coal smuggling and hawala transactions, adding that corruption had been institutionalised in the state through illegal mining, irregularities in government recruitment and abuse of administrative power at multiple levels.
The BJP state president further accused the Chief Minister of launching unwarranted attacks on the Union Home Minister and Defence Minister to divert attention from the ongoing investigation. He said interference in probes being conducted under court orders amounted to contempt of court, besides exerting pressure on investigating officers and facilitating destruction of evidence. Referring to earlier controversies involving senior officials such as Rajeev Kumar and Firhad Hakim, Bhattacharya described the current episode as the latest and most serious example in that sequence.
Responding to questions, Bhattacharya clarified that the reasons for ED or CBI investigations were matters for the agencies concerned, and that the BJP was not their spokesperson. He noted that most investigations in West Bengal were being carried out under directions of constitutional courts. Despite this, he alleged, the state government repeatedly approached the Supreme Court and High Court using public funds, and suffered setbacks in most cases.
Bhattacharya also claimed that if a new government comes to power in the state, a white paper would be released detailing the thousands of crores allegedly spent over the past 14 years on high-profile lawyers’ fees to protect corrupt individuals, terming it a criminal misuse of taxpayers’ money.
Concluding, he said that such unauthorised interference in criminal investigations and judicial processes was unacceptable in any civilised society and had tarnished the dignity of West Bengal. He expressed confidence that the electorate would respond appropriately in the forthcoming elections.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
