Senior West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim, who faced questioning from the CBI following a raid on his residence on Sunday, strongly criticized the BJP for what he perceives as their use of government agencies to harass him due to his refusal to bow down to their political party.
As part of its investigation into alleged irregularities in recruitment processes within civic bodies, the CBI conducted searches at 12 locations, including the homes of Hakim and TMC MLA Madan Mitra, in various parts of the state.
The CBI's raid and questioning at Hakim's residence in Chetla, south Kolkata, commenced at 9 a.m. and continued for nearly nine hours.
Hakim, who holds the positions of minister for urban development and municipal affairs as well as mayor of Kolkata, is a prominent figure within the TMC, wielding significant influence within the party's structure.
Expressing his frustration during a press conference outside his residence, Hakim questioned the rationale behind such treatment, wondering if he was being treated as a criminal. He challenged the BJP to provide concrete evidence of any wrongdoing on his part and emphasized that, according to the municipal act, the municipal affairs minister has no role in appointments.
Accusing the BJP of employing central agencies to target him and other TMC leaders who have resisted their pressure, Hakim argued that the BJP, unable to compete with the TMC on a political level, is resorting to such tactics to intimidate him.
Meanwhile, Madan Mitra, a TMC legislator from Kamarhati, alleged during a protest organized outside the Raj Bhavan that the BJP, having failed to secure electoral victories, is now relying on coercive tactics involving central agencies to intimidate the ruling party in the state. He expressed confidence that these tactics would ultimately fail, leading to another defeat for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
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