Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and MP from Diamond Harbour Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday accused some in the judiciary of “working in hand and glove” with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre.
“I am ashamed to say that in the judiciary, there are one or two who are working in hand and glove [with the Centre] as pole-bearers, only 1% of it [the judiciary]. They are ordering a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe at the drop of the hat. Investigation in a murder case is being stayed. Have you heard [of] anything like this ?” Mr. Banerjee asked, addressing a public gathering at Haldia in Purba Medinipur district. The TMC leader said that if someone wanted to take action against him for telling the truth, they could and that he would, “tell the truth 10,000 times before camera”.
Mr. Banerjee’s remarks come at a time when the State Government is grappling with a number of cases in which the Calcutta High Court has ordered probes by the CBI. Over the past few months, the High Court has ordered a CBI probe in more than half dozen cases, which include the violence at Bogtui in Birbhum; the murder of a Congress councillor in Purulia; the rape and death of student in Nadia; and the West Bengal School Service Commission scam.
The remarks drew criticism from the Opposition. Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said that such a statement amounted to “disrespect and contempt of the court” and such statements could only be made by the Trinamool Congress. State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that those who believe in Parliamentary democracy and the Constitution should not attack the judiciary in such a manner. BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said that the remarks were “unfortunate” and arose from the TMC’s disappointment over the Calcutta High Court’s recent orders.
During his address at Haldia, home turf of the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, Mr. Banerjee made repeated attacks on the BJP leader and said that he had “sold the pride of the people of Purba Medinipur to Delhi”. Mr. Banerjee accused Mr. Adhikari of joining the BJP only to escape investigation by Central agencies.
Referring to summons received by him from Central investigation agencies, Mr. Banerjee said that he had been called to Delhi twice in an attempt to embarrass him. “Instead, they [the BJP] were left embarrassed twice as two of their MPs defected and joined the Trinamool Congress,” he said. The TMC general secretary was referring to the defection by Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh in May 2022, and by actor-politician Babul Supriyo in September 2021.
Mr. Banerjee has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the coal pilferage scam.
