ED, CBI extended arms of BJP: Akhilesh in WB

Lucknow: Hailing West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for boldly taking on the BJP "all by herself' in West Bengal, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav described Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Income Tax departments as extended arms of the BJP to serve its political agenda. In states where BJP feels it cannot win elections, it sends these agencies. How did they win Maharashtra elections? It was through ED, CBI and Income Tax, Akhilesh said while interacting with the media after calling upon the West Bengal CM at the state secretariat – Nabanna – in Kolkata on Tuesday. Akhilesh described the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as an exercise which was defeating the very purpose that it was meant to serve. Instead of facilitating more and more people to vote, the SIR was posing obstacles, Akhilesh said. He reiterated that the SIR was another name of National Register for Citizens (NRC) because many people were made to prove their citizenship. Akhilesh said: "Till now there were allegations of vote chori (theft). But I want to congratulate Didi (Mamata) for stopping digital dacaiti (plunder)." In an apparent reference to the showdown between West Bengal CM and ED officials at the Kolkata office of political consultants I-PAC recently, Akhilesh said the latter wanted to "take away the (election related) data" of the Trinamool Congress – the party presently heading the government there. "If there is anyone taking the BJP head on, it is the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. She and her partymen are taking up all the fight for the people of the state," Akhilesh said, adding that this was the only way to compete with the BJP. He said SIR was introduced ahead of Bihar elections but it was actually aimed at West Bengal polls. He said Mamata's victory in the assembly polls was a foregone conclusion and the BJP was only struggling to secure a "respectable" defeat. The former UP CM had reached Kolkata on Monday along with wife and Mainpuir MP Dimple Yadav to attend a family function. During his meeting with Mamata he was accompanied by party vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda.