Firhad Hakim, a senior West Bengal minister, blasted the BJP for “using government agencies to harass him as he didn’t bow before the saffron party” after the CBI searched his home on Sunday.
As part of its probe into accused anomalies in hiring practices for civic authorities, the CBI conducted searches at 12 locations, including the houses of Hakim and TMC MLA Madan Mitra, in various regions of the state.
At 9 am, a raid and interrogation took place at Hakim’s Chetla home in south Kolkata, and they lasted for about nine hours.
Hakim, a key member of the TMC with significant sway within the party’s hierarchy and the minister for urban development and municipal affairs, is also the mayor of Kolkata.
A visibly frustrated Hakim, while addressing a press conference outside his residence, said, ‘What have I done to warrant such treatment? Am I a criminal? Can they provide any concrete evidence of wrongdoing on my part? According to the municipal act, does the municipal affairs minister have any role in appointments? The BJP has no justification for subjecting me to this unwarranted scrutiny.’
Hakim accused the BJP of resorting to the ‘use of central agencies to target him and other TMC leaders because they have not succumbed under the BJP’s pressure.’
He argued, ‘The BJP cannot compete with us on a political level; therefore, they are resorting to the use of central agencies to intimidate me. They are doing this simply because I have refused to bow down to their demands.’
In the meantime, Madan Mitra, a TMC lawmaker from Kamarhati, claimed at a demonstration outside the Raj Bhavan that the BJP is now using coercive measures from federal agencies to scare the state’s ruling party because it is unable to win any elections.
‘They cannot win elections, and are now attempting to bully us using central agencies. However, this will not yield any result, and the BJP will once again face defeat in the Lok Sabha polls,’ he added.
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