Mamata Banerjee Demands Probe Into Rafale File Theft From Ministry

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asked for an enquiry into the theft of Rafale files from the Union Ministry of Defence, saying that it was a matter of concern. 

She also sought the central government's version about the theft and asked who was the 'chhuppa rustam' (hidden person) behind this act.

In a tweet in Hindi, Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, described the entire matter as 'tamasha' (farce) and hinted that its fallout would be known after the Lok Sabha elections.

"What farce is going on in the country? Documents are being stolen from the Ministry of Defence itself. This is a very dangerous situation for the country," she tweeted.

"What would the government say on this? Who is the hidden person behind this? There must be an enquiry into it," she added.

Later, in the secretariat, the chief minister wondered if it was not the "fault" of the government, adding "if a government cannot protect a document, how can the country be safe under it"?

"The country is under threat. Has there been any FIR lodged in this case? We also run a government and we lodge FIRs if we lose a document," she said, terming the episode as
"big corruption".

The chief minister asked the people to "wait for sometime as general election results would come out soon". 

Attorney General K K Venugopal had informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the Rafale files were stolen from the Defence Ministry.

The government had also threatened The Hindu newspaper with action under the Official Secrets Act for publishing articles based on data allegedly taken from the stolen documents.

Banerjee had on Wednesday condemned the "threats by the BJP" to N Ram, chairman of The Hindu publishing group.

"Media plays an important role in democracy. I strongly condemn threats by BJP govt to one of India's most senior & respected editors, N Ram. Invoking Official Secrets Act to threaten journalists is a shame," she had tweeted.

(PTI)