Moitra shared an image of the “pass” on X, alleging that Thakur permitted the smuggling of 3 kg of beef. This image shows his purported official letterhead on a pass addressed to the 85th Battalion of Border Security Force (BSF), permitting the transport.

“The Union Minister has printed forms on official letterhead to @BSF_India 85BN issuing “passes” for smugglers on the Indo-Bangla border. In this case, for allowing 3 kgs of beef,” Moitra wrote in her post, tagging the BSF and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).

Thakur told The Indian Express that he had issued the letterheads to help civilians in the India-Bangladesh border area transport various goods as there is a BSF checkpoint, and not to smuggle beef “out of the country”.

He said, “Mahua Moitra is misleading the people by creating false propaganda and trying to hatch a political conspiracy. She has no idea about local issues and why such letterheads are given. The Trinamool Congress also issues such letterheads for people living in the border area. Why has she hidden that fact?”

“These letterheads were issued to save people from harassment at the hands of BSF, which has a checkpoint near the international border. I cannot stop people from consuming meat there as a large number of people living in the area are Muslims, ” the union minister added.