Suvendu attacks Mamata, Abhishek over appeasement politics, corruption

Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari continued his tirade against corruption even as he on Wednesday warned that strong actions would be taken on the top functionaries of the previous Trinamool Congress Government if they were found guilty in the Comptroller and Auditor General report, which his Government would table in the State Assembly on July 25.

Addressing the issue in the Assembly, Adhikari said that “the previous Government did not table the CAG reports … but the reports will be placed on July 25 and if any evidence of corruption is found in the CAG reports, we will act according to the recommendations of the report … no one will be spared — be it the former CM or any minister. We will immediately approach the Governor for his consent to prosecute the persons concerned … the Government will directly recommend to the Governor for an FIR to be lodged… more so in the case of misuse of funds for (super cyclone) Amphan.”

The super cyclone hit the State in 2020 post which the Centre had sent Rs 3,750 crore for relief. But there were allegations of large-scale corruption in the use of the Amphan funds.

He said, “Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi-ji provided Rs 3,750 crore in two installments during Amphan … but soon there were reports of major corruption (in utilisation of funds and distribution of relief) … this even led to Public Interest Litigations (PILs) in the Calcutta High Court.”

Adhikari slammed the previous Mamata Banerjee Government for not tabling the report of the CAG inquiry which was ordered by the High Court, adding while the report will be place on July 25, full discussion would take place in the next session post which actions if required, would be taken against those found to be guilty.

The Chief Minister also said that the Uniform Civil Code Bill would be tabled in a special session of the House only after the Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai report on the issue was placed before the Government.

Alleging that the previous Government had systematically demolished all the constitutional bodies, including the Human Rights Commission, Women’s Commission, Child Protection Commission, Information Commission, etc., the Chief Minister said that all these commissions would be made functional from August 1. “From August 1, all these constitutional bodies will be functional. They will have to accept complaints and will be bound to take action on them,” he said.

Referring to a severe statement from TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee that scores would be settled when his party would come back to power in 2031, Adhikari said that Banerjee, who is also the nephew of Mamata Banerjee, would not be able to win the next parliamentary elections in 2029 from the Diamond Harbour seat, which he had won by 7.5 lakh votes in 2024.

WB CM Announces Rs 5 Lakh Aid For Kin Of Trawler, Sikkim Tunnel Victims

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh and a civic volunteer’s job for one member of the family of every person from the state killed in the recent trawler tragedy off the state’s coast and the under-construction tunnel disaster in neighbouring Sikkim.

Making the announcement in the state assembly, Adhikari expressed grief over the two tragedies and said the state Government would stand by the affected families.

The announcement came after BJP MLA Chandrasekhar Mondal raised the issue of the fishing trawler that went missing in the Bay of Bengal on July 2 with several fishermen on board. The trawler, based in Shankarpur in Purba Medinipur district, was traced five days later, overturned near Bagher Char off Kakdwip. “So far, 11 decomposed bodies of fishermen have been recovered from the trawler, while four others are still missing,” the chief minister said, describing the incident as a major tragedy. He said most of the deceased fishermen hailed from the coastal areas of Purba Medinipur, Howrah and Nadia districts. Adhikari announced that the next of kin of each deceased fisherman would receive Rs 5 lakh financial assistance and that one eligible member from every affected family would be appointed as a civic volunteer in the local police station.

The chief minister also announced the same compensation package for families of West Bengal residents killed in the tunnel disaster in Sikkim.