Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wondered why there were no questions over details on the PM-CARES fund of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre while claiming she took prompt action against any person over allegations of taking “cut money”.

“I take action whenever I get complaints of cut money being taken, against any person in Bengal, but what about the PM-CARES fund, and what about the crores and crores being unethically spent by the BJP here and there… are enough questions raised?” asked Mamata at a rally in Asansol.

The Trinamul chief has been alleging through the pandemic that the fund was a “mega scam”, the details of which would be unearthed once the BJP is ousted from power at the Centre. The fund has been questioned by many in civil society as it is not subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India or open to queries under the Right to Information Act.

Mamata said the BJP was spending crores to fell democratically elected state governments run by non-BJP forces, which few questions raised by mainstream media.

“But in Bengal, if one deputy chief of a small rural body constructs a two-storey house, the media will start going to town with it.. Any person can construct his house from his savings, what is wrong in it?” she asked.

“If any person takes a little by way of cut money deliberately, or without his knowledge, I take action against him. But these are stray incidents. The media only highlights those,” she added.

Mamata alleged that without any audit, lakhs of crores was gathered in the name of the PM-CARES fund. “But the media does not question that…. Bengal is doing well, but the media will only highlight the negative here.’

The BJP camp was quick to react. “It is good that the chief minister has finally admitted that her partymen collect cut money. Her comments will inspire more of her partymen to participate in corruption,” said Dilip Ghosh, a national vice-president of the BJP.