Though the Trinamool Congress remained non-committal on how it wanted to respond to the income tax notice slapped on the party on account of un-explained electoral expenses worth crores incurred in the run up to the 2014 general elections, the party bosses said Mamata Banerjee would give a befitting reply to the “vendetta politics” being played by the BJP-led Centre to weaken the Opposition forces that could pose a problem for Narendra Modi in future.”
There was, however, no official response from the Bengal Chief Minister who was currently in Darjeeling on a State tour.
Notwithstanding its unruffled countenance projected to the world, the Trinamool leadership had gone into a tizzy in the wake of the I-T notice which demanded the party to immediately explain the expenditures incurred during the election campaigns of Mamata Banerjee in 2014.
According to inside sources, Mamata had assigned senior leaders like Subrato Bakshi, Partho Chatterjee, Derek O’Brien to sort out the issue. The first response came from a Minister who fumed “They have won two MP seats from Bengal this time. We will not let them take single seat the next time. Those who viewed English channels and read English newspapers were “not our voters,” so “rest assured such false charges would dent Didi's image in Bengal.”
The news beamed on air by a national English channel showed how the party spent over Rs 15 crore for hiring chopper that flew Banerjee to cover all the Constituencies in a comparatively shorter period. It also showed how the party had spent Rs 2 crore on flags for contesting polls in Punjab where the party had little or no presence. This apart the notice mentioned an expenditure of about Rs 10 crore on advertisement given in various newspapers and electronic media.
Despite repeated intimations, the party is yet to appear before the I-T officials, sources said adding the department had asked the Bengal ruling outfit to appear and explain the expenditures in a few days time.
“This is a big attempt to malign the Trinamool Congress and Mamata Banerjee who is among a few honest leaders in the country with a national appeal and who can challenge Narendra Modi’s hegemonisticrule in the Centre in the next general elections,” said a senior Minister and an accused in the Narada payoff case.
He however said “Any official statement if required would be given by the Chief Minister when she returns from Darjeeling.”
The election expenditure scam only adds to the long list of scams allegedly patronised by the Trinamool Congress leaders — Sharada-Rose Valley scam worth several thousand crores to Narada pay off case to Trident light scam worth more than Rs 350 crore to SJDA scam involving Rs 120 crore.
“We will fight the issue politically. But before that the BJP must answer to posers as to why the States like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh ruled by it are burning today. Why the farmers are getting shot for raising rightful demands. This is because this Government is of the rich by the rich and for the rich. And any political party that will raise its voice against it will be slapped with I-T notice. But they cannot avoid people’s notice that will come to them in 2019,” said an MP and close aide of the Chief Minister dropping hints on what stance she was going to take upon her return from Darjeeling.
On the other hand, left leaders like Sujan Chakrabarty said the BJP Government was only making a “gallery show by sending those notices. If they had anything to do, they would have taken actions in Sharada and Narada cases which are lying in CBI hands for years now. This is another tactic to divide the Opposition vote by showing the people BJP’s anti-Trinamool face before panchayat elections. Nothing will be done and nothing will happen to the Trinamool leaders as the BJP and the Trinamool are the two sides of the same coin.”