“Income tax officials searched his chopper before the trial run but found nothing. The officials claimed that they had inputs that there was money and gold in the chopper, but they found nothing,” CM Banerjee said at an election rally in Cooch Behar, adding, “We don’t engage in such acts. It’s the BJP that does. Did any central security official dare check BJP leaders’ choppers?”
The TMC in a post on X, said, “The chopper was undergoing a trial run at Behala Flying Club for Abhishek Banerjee’s visit to Haldia in Purba Medinipur district on Monday when a team of I-T officials arrived and extensively searched it.”
Meanwhile, Abhishek Banerjee on Monday stated that he plans to take legal action against income tax officials for allegedly stopping the trial run of the helicopter he used during a raid on Sunday.
While speaking to reporters, Banerjee said, “I have no problems with I-T raids. But after the I-T officials did not find anything, they decided to not allow the trial run of the chopper.”
The Diamond Harbour MP also claimed that when his security personnel videographed the raid, I-T officials forcefully had it deleted. “According to rules, trial run of the chopper is mandatory. The IT officials can’t stop it. They even forcibly erased the video of their verbal spat with my security personnel. The IT officials can’t intimidate in this manner. I am considering legal action against it. I have also lodged a police complaint against it,” he said.
Further, pointing out that the BJP is “misusing” central agencies and not allowing a “level playing field for all political parties,” in the elections, CM Banerjee said, “The BJP might use the NIA just days before the first phase of the election to arrest our leaders so that they can have a free run.”
The TMC chief claimed that BJP would destroy India’s federal structure and wanted to form an autocratic government. “When I said this everyone said it is not true. Now from their (BJP’s) manifesto, you can see their policy. There is a fish whose head is the CAA, tail is the NRC and stomach is the Union Civil Code. Minorities, tribals, mothers and sisters will not have their rights. What you have to eat in the morning and at night will also be decided by them,” she said.
Mamata Banerjee said that there will be no elections if the BJP returns to power. “If this government returns to power, there will be no election in this country. They will destroy the federal structure. There will be one nation and one leader. An autocratic government will be formed,” she said.
“BJP is a party of dacoits. Gali gali mein shor hai, BJP chor hain. If they have guts they should publish a white paper on why they did not give MGNREGA wages for two years. They should also publish details of corruption that happened in West Bengal as well as Gujarat, UP and Maharashtra,” she added. —WITH PTI