Soon after sacking its scam-tainted Minister Partha Chatterjee, the Trinamool Congress on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Enforcement Directorate and its handlers in Delhi wondering why only Opposition leaders were singled out in cases of corruption and the BJP politicians were spared by the Enforcement Directorate.
“We are not defending Partha Chatterjee as the party has already removed him from all the posts and the Chief Minister has sacked him from the Cabinet ... because the Trinamool Congress tolerates no corruption … but it has to be clarified by the BJP as to why only the TMC leaders are singled out and when they join the BJP they are spared,” party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said.
When asked to comment on BJP seeking Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s the TMC leader who is also her nephew said “they are referring to a photograph where the Chief Minister was seen with Arpita Mukherjee … as the Chief Minister she has to attend a number of programmes and is it possible to find out everyone’s credentials,” wondering “why do not they first ask for the resignation of the Prime Minister who was seen with Mehul Chowksi … why don’t they ask for the resignation of Nirmala Sitaraman during whose time Nirav Modi fled with some many crores … and why don’t they arrest or ask for the resignation of Shivraj Singh Chauhan during whose reign the Vyapam scam took place.”
Speaking about Partha Chatterjee he said “though it seems that it is another case of vendetta … because ED would not have touched him had he joined the BJP like some other leaders --- like the Opposition Leader (Suvendu Adhikari)… it seems that for the BJP when you are in any other party you are a thief but when you are in the BJP you are as pure as rose water.”
Referring to the school level recruitment scam he said “there are other leaders who are in the BJP today whose names are coming in the scam for abetting illegal appointments in districts like Purulia and Bankura but they have not been touched by the ED.”
Meanwhile, in a suspicious development a farmhouse reportedly owned by Sohini the daughter of the minister --- located at Baruipur some 35 km south off Kolkata --- was burgled in the wee hours of Thursday, sources said.
Locals said that three persons wearing black robes came in a vehicle, jumped over the high boundary wall broke the locks and entered the building which has a sprawling courtyard. Later they came out with a number of bags and fled away in the vehicle in which they had come. When the locals questioned their credentials they were threatened by the intruders, sources said.
The burglary took place in the night when Rs 28 crore was recovered from an apartment owned by Arpita and Partha. The police were investigating the case.