BJP has thrown a fresh salvo on TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee saying her silence over party leader Mahua Moitra’s case is an “admission of her party leader's guilt”.
BJP has claimed Mahua Moitra has been "abandoned" by her party chief Banerjee.
"Trinamool's stand on Mahua Moitra is - 'We won't comment. Said MP will defend herself'.Does it mean: 1) Trinamool accepts Mahua Moitra made serious breaches, including giving log-in to be operated from foreign soil by rival corporate entity in exchange for kickbacks? 2) If so, then why is Trinamool still retaining her rather than sacking her?" BJP's spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla asked, reported NDTV.
Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya, who is co-incharge of the party's West Bengal operations, also said it was no surprise Banerjee has "abandoned" Moitra.
Earlier, Banerjee lashed out at the BJP after ED on state minister Jyotipriya Mallick.
She warned the central agency (and the Central Bureau of Investigation) of police action if any harm should come to the senior TMC leader.
However, the support for Mallick was accompanied by continuing silence over Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra being investigated by the Ethics Committee in the alleged cash-for-query scam.
The TMC has distanced itself from charges facing Moitra, who is accused of taking Rs 2 crore in cash to ask, in Parliament, questions allegedly designed to target the Adani Group. The party said last week it would take an "appropriate decision" after the Ethics Committee inquiry.
TMC MP Derek O'Brien had said "the member concerned" had been told to clarify her position in the matter and that the party awaits the results of the committee's inquiry.
That panel held its first meet today and decided, within hours, that the charges against Moitra are "very serious" and warrant a full investigation. Mahua Moitra, who is fiercely critical of the BJP, has been summoned on October 31 to answer complaints by House colleague Nishikant Dubey.
Meanwhile, on ED raids against Mallick, a furious Mamata Banerjee Banerjee declared, "... (he) has blood sugar. If he dies, we will file a FIR (first information report) against CBI and ED. They torture people and ask them to take names of (other) people. This is atyachar (atrocious)."
