lashing out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her attack on the Centre, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said she is “helping” the accused in criminal cases by making allegations against the Government.
Another Central Minister Babul Supriyo, hailing from West Bengal, alleged that anarchy prevailed in the State and that the ruling Trinamool Congress had lost its credibility.
“I always respect Banerjee. She is a fighter. She has brought a big change in Bengal by ending the CPI(M) rule. We have worked together. By making such allegations against the Government of India, she is helping the accused. She should instead purge such people,” he told reporters here.
Naidu insisted that the Government has no role in the ongoing investigation into the Saradha chit fund scam, which is being handled by CBI, and the NIA-led probe into the Burdwan blast.
For his part, Supriyo, a Minister of State in the Urban Development Ministry, said the law and order situation in West Bengal was “very alarming”. “They don’t want to govern the State, it is complete anarchy everywhere and to see the Chief Minister talk about stage managed things, when there is a very clear line that is drawn from the activities around the terror plot in Burdwan.
“It is really shameful that a party, which has lost all credibility and is not thinking correctly, is going to come up with allegations like this,” Supriyo told reporters outside Parliament.
The reactions from the Central Ministers have come against Mamata’s accusation that the Modi Government was carrying out a “selective vendetta” against her and the party.
Supriyo said Banerjee is taking to the streets to protest against the alleged misuse of CBI by the Centre but the chitfund scam has “toyed” with money of the poor. Supriyo said it was “sad and disheartening” to see a Chief Minister, who has come up fighting for the poor, take such a stand.