"They are thieves": West Bengal BJP's Suvendu Adhikari slams TMC leaders over recruitment scam

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 12 : After Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided premises of Trinamool Congress leaders-- Tapas Roy and Sujit Bose, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari alleged that Bose os involved in a recruitment scam.
"They are thieves. There will be raids on a thief's home...Sujit Bose is involved in a recruitment scam. The youth and the people of Bengal want them to go behind bars," Adhikari said.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Minister and TMC leader Shashi Panja has termed the ED raids as "political vendetta."
"Wait for a statement from the party. But it is as clear as water that there is political vendetta behind such activities..." said Panja
TMC State General Secretary Kunal Ghosh also claimed that ED raids are happening on BJP's instructions.
"What ED is doing is a politically vindictive attitude and it is happening on BJP's instructions. BJP has lost and they have no power to face the TMC. Hence, they are misusing the agencies... Suvendhu is a thief. The CBI has registered an FIR against him. BJP released his video in the market. BJP called him a thief..." said Ghosh.
ED raids were conducted at the premises of TMC leader Tapas Roy in Kolkata.
The ED on Friday raided the premises of Bose in Kolkata in connection with a municipality jobs scam.
Tight security has been deployed at the locations, where the raids were conducted.
The alleged irregularities in municipality recruitments came to the fore when the ED arrested Kolkata-based builder Ayan Sheel on March 19 in connection with the school jobs scam.
The ED claimed that OMR (answer) sheets of candidates for various posts in several municipalities were found at Ayan's Salt Lake office during a search.
Earlier in August last year, the CBI summoned Bose for questioning in the ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in municipal appointments between 2014 and 2016.
The Kolkata High Court had rejected the state government's petition seeking a stay on the Calcutta High Court order for a CBI probe into the alleged scam in municipal hirings.
The agencies (CBI and ED) had informed the Calcutta high court that there were links between the civic body recruitment scam and the bribe-for-job scam in the West Bengal school education department, in which former education minister Partha Chatterjee has been arrested.
Bose was vice chairman of South Dum Dum Municipality from 2010 to 2021, when nearly 250 people were recruited. He is the first cabinet minister to be summoned in this case.