Ms Banerjee said the Tamil Nadu leadership should have been taken into confidence about the raids
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today criticized the tax raids on Tamil Nadu's top bureaucrat, Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, as "vindictive, unethical and technically improper action" and blamed the centre. The ruling BJP hit back, calling her the "queen of corruption".
Income Tax officials say the raids in Chennai were linked to a tax evasion investigation against Mr Rao's son Vikram Rao.
Ms Banerjee said the Tamil Nadu leadership should have been taken into confidence about the raids, which she likened to the CBI raids last year on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's top official.
"Earlier, the Principal Secretary of Arvind Kejriwal was raided and harassed. Now I read the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu has also been raided. Why this vindictive, unethical, technically improper action? Is it only to disturb the federal structure," the Bengal Chief Minister tweeted.
"Why don't they raid Amit Shah and others who are collecting money? While corruption needs to be condemned strongly, the raid on Chief Secretary by central agencies devalues the institution of head of the civil service."
"The proper procedure should have been (followed) to take the state leadership into confidence and removing him from the post prior to any pre-emptive action based on information."The BJP's Siddharth Nath Singh said Mamata Banerjee seems like the "champion of corruption", standing with the corrupt.
"We ask you Mamata. Why are you scared? Are you too trying to protect a bureaucrat in Bengal? You are called the queen of corruption," Mr Singh said, referring to the Saradha chit fund scam and the Narada sting in which leaders of Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress party were allegedly caught taking bribes.
The BJP leader also raised the Rose Valley case allegedly involving a massive Ponzi scam that the CBI says is worse than the previous chit fund scam.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)