Congress asks PM Modi why action against TMC leaders stalled after they joined BJP

New Delhi, May 29

The Congress on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why CBI’s action against Suvendu Adhikari and ED’s action against Tapas Roy got stalled after they left the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and joined the BJP.

On the eve of his Bengal visit on Wednesday, Congress general secretary (in charge of communication) Jairam Ramesh said CBI filed an FIR against the then TMC MP Suvendhu Adhikari in connection with the Narada scam in April 2017. The CBI sought sanction from the Lok Sabha speaker to prosecute him in April 2019. Adhikari joined the BJP in December 2020, and the CBI never received the Lok Sabha speaker’s sanction.

Similarly, TMC leader Tapas Roy was raided by the ED in January 2024 in connection with a money laundering case. He had joined the BJP in March 2024. Just a few months prior to his joining, Adhikari had alleged that Roy was involved in a municipal recruitment scam but this allegation also disappeared once Roy joined the party.

“PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Bhrashtachar Hatao’ slogan is shamelessly plastered all over the country even as his party is busy handing tickets to corrupt politicians. Can the outgoing PM shed any light on why CBI and ED action against these leaders has been stalled? How can the BJP make pretensions to eradicating corruption when their ‘washing machine’ is clearly at full spin in West Bengal?” Ramesh said.

The Congress also accused PM Modi of withholding Rs 7,000 crore of ration funds from West Bengal because his face is not “plastered” on ration.

“In an incredibly petty move, the Centre has been withholding National Food Security Act funds from West Bengal for not displaying the outgoing prime minister’s face on ration shops. In an attempt to coerce the state government into displaying sign boards and flexes featuring the outgoing prime minister’s photos, the Centre has withheld Rs 7,000 crore of paddy procurement funds. This could seriously hinder the state’s paddy procurement and the availability of rice for the public distribution system.

“Why has the outgoing PM so callously neglected the health and wellbeing of the people of West Bengal? Is his publicity more important than people’s daily food?” Ramesh asked.

Ramesh said, “Modi Sarkar has blocked National Health Mission funding to over 11,000 sub-health centres in West Bengal. These sub-health centres form the first line of defence for India’s poor – they are staffed by nurses and provide vaccines for children, tablets and medicines for common fever, malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. While the sub-centres are supposed to be called Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres, the state government had named them Sushasthya Centres. In a letter dated November 25 2023, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare wrote to states, ordering them to rename sub-centres ‘Ayushman Arogya Mandir’ and paint them orange. The medical community has criticised this attempt by the BJP to ‘saffronise’ medical centres, and the state government has refused to implement it. In a petty and vindictive move, the Modi Sarkar seems to have blocked funds just because the state government refused to paint sub-centres a different colour. This comes after the Centre has already blocked state funds to MGNREGA and a Central housing scheme.”