Mamata Banerjee Mum On Mahua Moitra, Warns Agency After Raids On Minister

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the BJP Thursday after Enforcement Directorate raids on state minister Jyotipriya Mallick, warning the central agency (and the Central Bureau of Investigation) of police action if any harm should come to the senior Trinamool leader.

However, the support for Mr Mallick was accompanied by continuing silence over Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra being investigated by the Ethics Committee in the alleged cash-for-query scam.

The Trinamool has distanced itself from charges facing Ms Moitra, who is accused of taking Rs 2 crore in cash to ask, in Parliament, questions allegedly designed to target the Adani Group. The party said last week it would take an "appropriate decision" after the Ethics Committee inquiry.

Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien had said "the member concerned" had been told to clarify her position in the matter and that the party awaits the results of the committee's inquiry.

READ |"Appropriate Decision" In Mahua Moitra Case After Investigation: Trinamool

That panel held its first meet today and decided, within hours, that the charges against Ms Moitra are "very serious" and warrant a full investigation. Mahua Moitra, who is fiercely critical of the BJP, has been summoned on October 31 to answer complaints by House colleague Nishikant Dubey.

READ | Parliament Panel Says Mahua Moitra Case "Serious", Summons Her On Tuesday

The Trinamool's silence has been picked up by the BJP, which has claimed Mahua Moitra has been "abandoned" and that Ms Banerjee's silence is an admission of her party leader's guilt.

"Trinamool's stand on Mahua Moitra is - 'We won't comment. Said MP will defend herself'."

"Does it mean: 1) Trinamool accepts Mahua Moitra made serious breaches, including giving log-in to be operated from foreign soil by rival corporate entity in exchange for kickbacks? 2) If so, then why is Trinamool still retaining her rather than sacking her?" BJP's spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla asked.

Earlier, senior BJP leader Amit Malviya, who is co-incharge of the party's Bengal ops, said it was no surprise Ms Banerjee has "abandoned" Ms Moitra.

Meanwhile, on ED raids against Mr Mallick, a furious Mamata Banerjee Banerjee declared, "... (he) has blood sugar. If he dies, we will file a FIR (first information report) against CBI and ED. They torture people and ask them to take names of (other) people. This is atyachar (atrocious)."

The sharp words also came after the Enforcement Directorate searched premises linked to Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara in connection with the exam paper leak case from last year.

READ |Central Agency Searches Rajasthan Congress Chief's Home Weeks Before Polls

Like other opposition politicians, Ms Banerjee has often accused the BJP of using central agencies to target rivals, particularly ahead of elections, which are due next month in Congress-ruled Rajasthan.

"'Yeh kya atyachar... kya anachar chal raha hai?' (What atrocities, lawlessness is going on here?) ... BJP is playing a dirty game in the guise of ED raids on opposition leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha election (in 2024)... has been a single such raid at any BJP leader's residence?" she asked.

"It (the BJP) says it wants 'sabka sath, sabka vikas (development for all)' but actually it wants 'sabka sath, sabka satyanash (destruction for all)'," Ms Banerjee declared.

The Trinamool is a member of the INDIA opposition bloc that includes the Congress and has said it now plans to contest all elections, including next year's Lok Sabha poll, "together as far as possible".

Rajasthan will vote in an Assembly election on November 25 and this morning's ED action against Mr Dotasara, a senior member of the ruling outfit, also provoked a furious response from his party.

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