Hours after reports of the Enforcement Directorate issuing notices to Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in connection with a coal pilferage case, West Bengal Chief Minister of Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre of using investigative agencies as a tool for political vendetta.
She also called for a meeting of Opposition Chief Ministers on the attack on the federal structure of the country.
“Federal structure has been done away with. I want to call a conference of all Chief Ministers on federal structure. If the Chief Ministers agree then I will call the meeting,” Ms. Banerjee said addressing a virtual meeting on the occasion of foundation day of the student wing of the Trinamool Congress.
United Opposition
“Let us all work together,” the TMC chairperson said, emphasising that States were being denied of their share of central taxes including the Goods and Services Tax. “Uddhav ( Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray) is fighting, so is Arvind ( Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal),” she added.
Ms. Banerjee’s address focused on allegations that the BJP was indulging in “vendetta politics” with central agencies coming after the Trinamool Congress’ leadership.
“You are showing me one ED notice. That very same ED I can send a bagful of papers... If you want to fight Abhishek then fight him politically,” she said, and went to name a number of leaders of her party, asking whether the BJP could pose a political challenge to them.
The Chief Minister said she has never indulged in vendetta politics and does not want to indulge in such kind of politics but issued a warning if things continue the way it is.
“But bear in mind Bengal is a different place. There can be tit-for-tat,” she said. Ms. Banerjee questioned the Centre’s focus only on the Trinamool Congress in the coal theft case and accused the leaders of the saffron party of being in hand-in-glove with the coal mafia.
“Amit Shah, please remember, during the elections a number of leaders of your party came and stayed at hotels owned by coal mafia,” the TMC chief said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had in 2020 lodged an FIR in a multi-crore coal pilferage scam related to Eastern Coalfields Ltd. mines in the State’s Kunustoria and Kajora areas in and around Asansol. The CBI has questioned Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rijura Banerjee in the case.
The ED is probing aspects of money-laundering in the case. The agency has issued summons to Abishek Banerjee and his wife Rijura Banerjee to appear in their office in Delhi on September 6 and September 1 respectively. Some Indian Police Service (IPS) officers have also been summoned to appear on different dates next month in the same case.
ED has arrested two persons in the case that the agency estimates at around ₹1,352 crore. The brother of TMC youth leader Vikas Mishra, Vinya Mishra has been arrested along with former inspector in charge in Bankura case Ashok Kumar Mishra.
Also speaking at the event, Mr. Abhishek Banerjee also spoke about the central investigating agencies trying to threaten the leaders of the party. “Those who think they can threaten us with ED, CBI, let me tell them, we will not be cowed down,” he said.
The Trinamool Congress leadership has on several occasion raised the issue of Centre using agencies against its leaders including officials of West Bengal government. In February 2019, Ms. Banerjee also sat on a protest in Kolkata when the CBI went knocking on the doors of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in the Saradha case.
