‘Vendetta politics,’ says TMC as CBI raids Bengal minister, MLA

Officials stated that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday (October 8) carried out searches at the Kolkata residence of Firhad Hakim, a senior minister in West Bengal. This action was part of the agency's investigation into suspected irregularities in recruitments made by the state's civic bodies.

Hakim, the minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, is also the mayor of Kolkata. He is a senior leader of the TMC and has significant sway in the party's organisation.

A team of CBI officers reached Hakim's residence in south Kolkata's Chetla area along with a large contingent of central forces, officials said.

"Two CBI officers are questioning him," a senior official told PTI.

As the searches began, Hakim's supporters gathered outside his house, and began a protest.

A CBI team also searched the residence of Madan Mitra, a former minister and the MLA of Kamarhati in North 24 Parganas district, in the Bhabanipur area, around 3 km from Hakim's residence in Chetla.

'Vendetta politics'

The TMC on Sunday said that the CBI searches at the residences of West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim and its MLA Madan Mitra were a desperate attempt to divert the attention from its ongoing demonstration outside the Raj Bhavan over demands of central funds.

"This is an attempt to divert the public's attention from the ongoing protest outside Raj Bhavan, led by Abhishek Banerjee. The BJP appears to be sensing a growing public discontent, and they are using every means at their disposal to change the narrative. This is a clear example of vendetta politics," senior TMC MP Sougata Roy said.

Rejecting the allegations, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, "If the TMC has nothing to hide, why are they afraid of ED and CBI?" "Whenever TMC leaders are summoned by the ED or CBI, they cry foul and accuse the agencies of being politically motivated. Yet, the reality is that the TMC is deeply mired in corruption with nearly every leader facing some allegation or the other," he claimed.

Both Hakim and Mitra were arrested by the CBI in 2021 in the Narada sting operation case. Mitra was also arrested by the CBI in 2014 in the Saradha chit fund scam.

On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched multiple locations, including the residence of Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh, in connection with the recruitment case.

It is alleged by the central investigating agencies that around 1,500 people were illegally recruited by different civic bodies in the state, between 2014 and 2018, against monetary considerations.

(With agency inputs)