Anubrata would’ve got clean chit if he was in BJP: Abhishek

Kolkata: If Anubrata Mondal would have joined BJP, he would have received a clean chit, alleged TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Birbhum on Wednesday. The leader, who held a strategy meeting on the Birbhum and Bolpur parliamentary seats, said: “If Anubrata Mondal had gone to BJP today, he would have received his clean chit (dhowa tulsipata). He did not go to BJP, so he is in jail.”“The way Ajit Pawar, Suvendu Adhikari, Himanta Biswa Sharma, Narayan Rane went to BJP, Anubrata too would have been absolved of all charges if he had joined BJP,” Banerjee said, adding: “Mondal’s arrest took place months ago. But 10 days ago, cows were being brought (illegally) from UP and Bihar to Memari (East Burdwan).”Pointing out there was no Trinamool representative in Bihar or UP, he said: “How many times have Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath or Bihar CM Nitish Kumar been summoned?”Trinamool leader Mondal was arrested in August 2022 in a cow smuggling case and taken into ED custody in November of that year. Later, ED arrested his daughter Sukanya. Both are in Tihar Jail. This will be the first major polls in Birbhum in decades where Mondal will not be leading the party in the district.Stating that the party was confident of extending its winning margin, the Diamond Harbour MP denied that there was any infighting. “You do not need to worry about Trinamool. If you are unhappy about TMC, you will be here when the voting machines open on June 4. I will be here too…” he said.Banerjee also raised the issue of BJP leaders going to court every time they were summoned by police in the state. “If even a BJP leader is summoned, the HC will ‘stay’ it,” he claimed. According to sources, at the meeting, Banerjee asked all TMC functionaries and elected representatives to work together. Influential district leader Kajol Sk has been made party observer in Ketugram under Bolpur constituency. Local MLA Apurba Chowdhury is in charge of polling in Mangalkot. Before the meeting, Ketugram MLA Sekh Sahonawez said: “Keshto da’s (Mondal) work has been misinterpreted. He has put the party on a solid foundation from the beginning.” Mangalkot MLA Apoorva Chowdhury said: “We have ensured development in the area by carrying out politics in the way shown to us by Keshto da. The name of CM Mamata Banerjee is enough to answer the opposition’s falsehoods.”