West Bengal's BJP president, Sukanta Majumdar, cautioned on Friday that the state could witness scenes akin to the recent developments in the national capital, alluding to the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The remark comes in the wake of Kejriwal's detention by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a case related to money laundering linked to the excise policy.
"Last month, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemmant Soren was arrested. Now, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested. It only shows that being a chief minister doesn't grant you any sort of impunity if you are involved in corruption. Similar allegations of corruption have emerged in West Bengal in recent years. So, the state could also witness similar scenes like New Delhi," Majumdar said.
The arrest of Kejriwal, who heads the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), follows similar actions against other chief ministers, notably Jharkhand's Hemant Soren last month.
Majumdar's statement prompted a swift response from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which interpreted it as a manifestation of the BJP's apprehension about losing ground in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In response, the TMC accused the BJP of resorting to intimidation tactics using central agencies to suppress the opposition.
Kunal Ghosh, a TMC spokesperson, attributed Kejriwal's arrest to the BJP's desperation to retain power, suggesting a pattern of political vendetta.
"Sensing defeat, the BJP is now desperate to hold onto power either by hook or crook. The arrest of Arvind Kejriwal hints at it. Secondly, in Bengal too, the BJP is using central agencies to pursue political vendetta," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
However, the state Congress president, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, offered a different perspective, alleging a tacit understanding between the BJP and the TMC.
Chowdhury claimed that despite corruption allegations against the TMC government, West Bengal was unlikely to witness similar developments due to the perceived alliance between the two parties, as evidenced by the TMC's withdrawal from the opposition bloc and decision to contest the elections independently.
"It is due to this tacit understanding that the TMC walked out of the opposition bloc INDIA in West Bengal, and decided to contest alone," he alleged.
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