Senior TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee has labelled party colleague and arrested minister Jyotipriyo Mallick as a "traitor" and asserted that the party's leadership cannot be held accountable if a party functionary engages in corruption.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested the West Bengal minister last week in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged multi-crore ration distribution scam in the state.

While being transported to the hospital for a health check-up, Mallick claimed that the BJP had conspired against him to frame him on false charges. He also asserted that the party's top leadership is aware of this conspiracy and firmly supports him.

Mallick said, "The BJP is behind my arrest. They have conspired against me. My party leadership is aware of it (the conspiracy). The party is with me." Banerjee was incensed by the arrested TMC leader's reference to the party's top leadership, stating that the party's senior members cannot be blamed if a party functionary engages in corruption.

Banerjee told a news channel, "Why bring the party's top brass into everything? The party has entrusted someone with a responsibility, whether it's a ministerial position or any other role, but if that individual indulges in corruption, then the party cannot be held responsible. The individual must take their own responsibility." "If someone is trying to drop names, then he or she is a traitor," the TMC's Lok Sabha Chief whip said.

Incidentally, the party had staunchly supported Mallick and labeled his arrest as "vendetta politics." In response to the allegations, the Bengal BJP called for central investigating agencies to also probe the TMC's top leadership.

BJP leader Rahul Sinha remarked, "The entire TMC is deeply embroiled in corruption. The central agencies must question TMC's top brass." The opposition BJP accused the ruling party of employing double standards when dealing with its leaders facing graft allegations.

The saffron camp pointed to the swift suspension and removal of Partha Chatterjee when he was arrested last year, contrasting it with the lack of action in the cases of Anubrata Mandal, who still holds the position of TMC's Birbhum president, and Mallick, who remains in office.

Jyotipriyo Mallick currently holds the portfolios of Forest Affairs and Non-Conventional and Renewable Energy in the Mamata Banerjee government.

Notably, he served as the Food Supplies Minister from 2011 to 2021, a period during which the alleged irregularities in ration distribution reportedly occurred.

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