BJP rejects TMC charge of PM's hand behind CBI notices

Says the probe agency is only doing its job

BJP today rebutted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's allegation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was behind the CBI notices to the TMC, saying the probe agency was only doing its job.

BJP National Secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said the CBI's probe would reveal the truth about the party's accounts and their auditing.

"The CBI is doing investigation on its own to find out the truth. Modiji does not believe in such practices," said Singh, who participated in a protest against alleged state-sponsored terrorism ahead of civic polls.

Mamata had on Friday dared Modi to send her hundreds of CBI notices and alleged that BJP was trying to stifle Trinamool Congress's voice for protesting against his "anti-people" policies including the Land Acquisition Bill.

Mamata had told an election rally that "whoever will speak against Narendra Modi, he will send the person a notice. It is his work. I am not afraid of him. I know how to fight." Singh also accused the TMC government of doing nothing for the state.

"Mamataji even failed to give her party's proper accounting and audit report to the CBI. The auditor appears to be a non-functional one," he said.

Singh alleged that the TMC government was "unleashing a reign of terror before the civic polls and it is a TMC's ploy to capture all seats without allowing opposition parties to contest."

"Terror has no place in democracy. The administration appears to be worse than it was in the British Raj and the law and order situation is in favour of the ruling party alone. People will give a befitting reply in the election," Singh said. "Our leaders and workers were terrorised, attacked and beaten up badly at various places while campaigning for polls. Police even refused to register an FIR in most cases," Singh alleged.

BJP state president Rahul Sinha said they were having talks with the party's central leadership for deployment of central forces for the municipal elections in the state.

"We shall make it possible. We are at the Centre," Sinha said. Sinha claimed that about 50 companies of central forces were already present in the state, but the state government failed to deploy them for the polls.

He alleged that the ruling TMC was planning to rig the civic polls. "Otherwise, how could it predict the number of seats it would win in the polls?" Sinha claimed police themselves were afraid and "that is why they are not even registering FIRs on our complaints if they involve the TMC". Union minister Babul Supriyo blamed the state government and police inaction for the spurt in attacks against women and other crimes in the state.