“They cannot control me by sending notices. I made a different material. The more they use ED and CBI, the more people will come to us. “Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee said this while campaigning for his party colleague Babul Supriya, who is contesting the Baliganj Assembly by-election in West Bengal on April 12. Another by-election will be held in the state for the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency where the ruling TMC has fielded actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha.
Although it was a local election campaign, Abhishek attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from a national perspective.
The TMC alleges that the ruling BJP is using the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation as a political tool to repeatedly target Abhishek Banerjee and other opposition leaders. So, party insiders say, the Diamond Harbor MP insisted he and the grassroots agencies were not intimidated. The BJP has dismissed the allegations.
“They are showing cause to the chief secretary, arresting the ministers … they have arrested our leader Subrata Mukherjee. He is no more. But they did not arrest the person who was seen taking money on TV, ”Abhishek said, adding that BJP leader and former party colleague Shuvendu Adhikari was clearly digging into the Narda sting case.
He again alleged that the CBI was being used to settle political scores. Abhishek has come under fire from central agencies for allegedly being involved in coal smuggling cases.
Over the last one month, the BJP has raised the issue of law and order in Rampurhat, Jhalda, Alia University, etc. The party, which lost to the TMC in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections and in the next few elections in the state, is trying to revive itself by highlighting the various failures of the grassroots. Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself has raised questions in Parliament about the law and order situation in Bengal. Both the BJP and the Congress have called for Centre’s intervention in the state.
Abhishek, who is the nephew of Chief Minister and TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee, said, “If the President’s rule is implemented, we got 213 seats last time (in the Assembly elections). This time we will get more than 250. “
Babul, who switched from Bharatiya Janata Party to TMC after the Assembly vote, is contesting from Baliganj where two wards are inhabited by Muslims. The BJP is looking at his history with the saffron party.
Abhishek said, “Babul joined TMC because of his ideals.” “Those who say that Babul was voted for the BJP – let me tell you, Babul has traveled all the way from ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Joy Bangla ‘.
As central pressure mounts, party insiders say the inauguration campaign has boosted the morale of staff.
Rising prices, especially petrol and diesel, etc., have also emerged as a major problem in the by-elections and the TMC wants to target the BJP over it. Abhishek noted that “after losing in Bengal, the BJP-led Center has reduced prices, but they have increased 14 times since winning in Uttar Pradesh”.
The TMC leader’s rally route moved from an elevated area to a Muslim-dominated area.
“We will go to other states and defeat the BJP,” said Abhishek, who is organizing the party’s national push ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “We will lead them in Meghalaya, Tripura next year. Even in Goa (where the BJP won the assembly elections last month and the Trinamool did not make much of an impact), we will be there.”
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