Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee alleged that Income Tax officials conducted a raid on his helicopter in Kolkata on Sunday. Banerjee claimed that despite the search, nothing incriminating was discovered.
According to sources within the party speaking to India Today TV, the incident occurred while the helicopter was undergoing a trial run at the Behala Flying Club, just a day before Abhishek Banerjee's scheduled visit to Haldia in Purba Medinipur.
Sources further detailed that a verbal altercation ensued between Abhishek Banerjee's security personnel and the Income Tax officials when the former sought clarification regarding the purpose behind the search. The security personnel were purportedly restrained by the IT officials during the search operation.
Banerjee criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India, alleging that they dispatched Income Tax officials as "minions from IT." He reiterated the Trinamool Congress's demand for the removal of the chief of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), asserting that instead of addressing their concerns, the BJP and the poll body resorted to deploying IT officials.
Previously, the TMC had accused BJP leader and former Asansol Mayor Jitendra Tiwari of meeting with an NIA official at his residence following the announcement of the election schedule. The party claimed that the NIA commenced issuing notices to its leaders immediately after the said meeting.
In response, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh remarked that the search conducted on Abhishek Banerjee's helicopter indicates the BJP's nervousness, stating, "The witch-hunt is getting out of hand!"
However, the leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, viewed the IT raid as part of an initiative to eradicate black money from election campaigns. Adhikari, campaigning for the BJP in Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency, suggested that Banerjee should have cooperated with the officials instead of protesting the raid, questioning whether he considers himself exempt from the country's laws.
