Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday criticised the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal for the attack on an NIA team in Purba Medinipur district, pointing out that earlier ED officers were assaulted in the state's Sandeshkhali area.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was allegedly attacked when it went to arrest two key conspirators in a 2022 blast case in Bhupatinagar.
Claiming that officers of the central agency barged into several houses in the early hours over an incident of "bursting of crackers in 2022", the West Bengal CM defended the villagers' response as self-defence.
Prasad told PTI-Video, "It is for the NIA to decide where and when to carry out a raid. And why does Banerjee want the police to be informed? So that goons of her Trinamool Congress are alerted and allowed to escape?"
"This is not the first time that central agencies have been assaulted by henchmen of TMC. In Sandeshkhali, where sexual abuse of women has caught the notice of the court, ED officials were beaten up. Clearly, goons and terrorists have been given free rein in West Bengal," he added.
Prasad also took potshots at the Congress, alleging that its manifesto showed the party had "no roadmap" for the country.
"No wonder, people have given up taking seriously the Congress as well as its leader Rahul Gandhi," claimed the BJP leader.
The Patna Sahib MP, who is seeking re-election from the seat, also said, "I am still curious to know who will be competing against me. The opposition seems unable to even decide its candidate. In any case, I am confident of a historic win, not just for myself but all 40 NDA candidates in Bihar."
