Mamata slammed the ED and BJP over raids on companies linked to Abhishek Banerjee.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee "will be arrested before (the 2024) election", Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said today, claiming inside information to that effect a week after the Enforcement Directorate claimed to have found "incriminating documents" in raids on premises owned by a firm whose CEO is listed as Mr Banerjee, a Lok Sabha MP and the Chief Minister's nephew.
In a heated attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party that is in power at the centre, Ms Banerjee claimed a conspiracy against Abhishek Banerjee and referenced the new bill that seeks to regulate the appointment of the election commissioners, saying, "I suspect they may hold elections in December."
"I have seen many governments but I have not seen a vindictive government like this. Someone sent me a message - they will arrest Abhishek before elections. See what they have done... they have taken what was in his computer and no one was informed. They went in on their own and did whatever they wanted. After that they came with some prepared by them and they have installed those files on his computer. If you think you are smart with computers, don't underestimate us..." she said.
"We have found out all the information. That these files were installed by you and these were not on his computer. We have given specific times. And that's why a complaint has been filed. The have threatened to arrest the person who filed a complaint. Arrest everyone, soon you'll see your people in jails," the Chief Minister added.
Mr Banerjee has also hit out at the ED for planting evidence and took a swipe at the centre over the number of high-profile fugitives who fled the country and have yet to be brought back. "I went abroad for treatment. They spread rumours through media... I won't return. My surname is not (Nirav) Modi. My surname is not (Mehul) Choksi. My surname is not (Vijay) Mallya. My surname is Banerjee."
The Chief Minister last week slammed federal agencies for acting on behalf of the BJP. "Our home faces torture everyday... there was no intimation. The boy (Mr Banerjee) got back only day before..."
The Chief Minister - a vocal critic of the BJP and who has frequently claimed it uses investigative agencies to harass and intimidate rival political leaders - had also accused the ED of "breaking locks and entering" premises marked for raids. "If someone is not at home (and the ED enters)... how can there be guarantee you're not putting explosives... a gun... crores of rupees in a box?" she demanded.
READ | Mamata Banerjee's "Planting Evidence" Charge After Raids In Kolkata
Accusing the government of waging an "illegal political vendetta", Ms Banerjee added, "You cannot run the country like this. We are citizens of an independent country. The PM boasts when he is abroad that he takes everyone along. And look at opposition-ruled states. They are biting us like ants."
"If I start raiding, a lot will come out. But I won't do it... journalists collect more money than politicians."
READ | BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, Abhishek Banerjee Spar Over Central Agency Raids
Ms Banerjee on Monday also warned voters across India that she feared the BJP would that re-electing the BJP for a third term (in next year's general election) will mean the nation faces "autocratic" rule. She shot off a warning to the BJP, declaring, "When no one thought we could remove the Left Front (in Bengal) we removed them. If we want to remove the BJP from the centre... we will do it."
"Today only the BJP enjoys freedom. No one else has the freedom to speak. If the BJP comes to power, it will be autocracy and the constitution will be changed," the Trinamool leader warned.