Trinamul is all set to hit the streets over the arrest of former food (and current forest) minister Jyotipriya Mallick by the ED over the alleged scam in the public distribution system (PDS) in a bid to tell people about the Narendra Modi government’s “vengeance” towards Bengal’s ruling party.
“We know that the BJP will put its best foot forward to earn political dividends from this issue before the 2024 polls. So, we will reach out to people to let them know that the arrest of our minister over the so-called scam in the PDS system was nothing but a move of vengeance to suppress our movement against the Narendra Modi government over central deprivation (of funds),” said a senior Trinamul leader in Calcutta.
The decision of Mamata Banerjee’s party assumes significance at a time when the BJP has asked its leaders to corner Trinamul over the alleged PDS scam that has “affected crores of rural poor”.
A source in the BJP said Mallick's arrest apparently established the charge against Mamata Banerjee’s government that it even used food for the poor to feed its “model of corruption”.
The 66-year-old minister of Mamata’s cabinet, who was the food minister for a decade from 2011 to 2021, was arrested by the central agency early on Friday in a probe related to the money trail in the suspected scam in the PDS system.
Mallick also shouldered a lot of political responsibilities.
A source said all party leaders had been asked to focus on Trinamul’s narrative while addressing the masses or countering the BJP over Mallick’s arrest.
Trinamul workers, headed by current food and supplies minister Rathin Ghosh, on Friday took out a protest rally in Madhyamgram of North 24-Parganas against Mallick’s arrest.
“Our leader Abhishek Banerjee (Trinamul general secretary) launched a mega movement in Delhi and Calcutta demanding the release of (central) funds for Bengal. In a bid to suppress the movement and divert people from the issue, the BJP started its witch-hunt against our leaders by using central agencies,” said Ghosh, whose house was also raided by the ED on October 5 over an alleged scam in recruitment in the municipalities.
Trinamul workers hit the streets in Naihati, Basirhat, Gobordanga, and Barasat of North 24-Parganas, a district politically controlled by Mallick. A source said the party would continue with protests elsewhere too.
Trinamul in Delhi on October 2 and 3 demanded the release of central funds that the Modi government froze since December 2021. Party leaders led by its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee staged a dharna at Rajghat in Delhi on October 2, Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary.
A team headed by Abhishek was briefly arrested by the Delhi police on October 3 after they went to meet the junior rural development minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. Back in Calcutta, Abhishek started a dharna in front of Raj Bhavan on October 5 and continued it for the next four days till governor C.V. Ananda Bose promised to take the demand to Delhi.
Abhishek on October 9 said Trinamul would begin a bigger movement against the Centre on November 1 led by Mamata.
“The BJP knows it can’t face Trinamul’s protest over our charges of step-motherly attitude towards Bengal. That is why it used its usual weapons CBI and ED...,” said a Trinamul leader.
Samik Bhattacharya, the Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson, said the “money trail in the PDS scam is not limited to a few crores”. “The arrest of the minister revealed the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “No one will believe Trinamul’s old narrative of vengeance.”
