Abhishek Banerjee graft charges: Mamata seeks to pull skeletons out of BJP's closet

BJP has got a new stick to beat West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with - the corruption charges against her nephew and All India Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee. But why is Mamata silent on the issue? Is it because she has a bigger stick to beat the BJP with?

The Chief Minister's silence, AITC sources say, can partially be attributed to her efforts to unearth a much bigger scam in the state which involves the BJP. Towards this goal, she has urged the CID to fast track a case related to child trafficking in which the names of some BJP leaders has cropped up.

"As Abhishek Banerjee has already taken a legal path, she is maintaining silence on this issue. Moreover, if she speaks, there is a higher possibility of her being politically attacked no matter what she says as Abhishek is her nephew," a senior AITC MP said.

Since Abhishek is being projected as heir apparent and reportedly being groomed to take over the party, hurting him is as close as they can come to hurting the Chief Minister herself.

Seeking an answer

What has irked the Opposition in the state is the chief minister's silence.

"Why is Mamata still silent when corruption charges have been levelled against her nephew? She should answer. We will raise the issue in the upcoming Assembly session,” says CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty.

Congress' Abdul Mannan demanded an independent enquiry into the charges and said that the minister needs to answer a few of the questions that have been raised Opposition parties.

Abhisek has been accused of receiving Rs 1.15 crore when he was director in the firm Leaps and Bounds Pvt Limited from a realtor Raj Kishore Modi, who is under probe for criminal activities including land grabbing. He has already issued a legal notice to the reporter of Times Now who exposed the story.

AITC defends Mamata

However, a segment of AITC believe that the silence may be because of lingering differences between the aunt and nephew over the grabbing of power within the party. Saying Mamata has been aggrieved with how Abhishek plays his political party, something which Mamata has rejected. games, she does not want to defend him publicly now that corruption charges have been levelled against him.

"There have been differences of opinion between Mamata Banerjee and her nephew - even during a recent rally they had a tiff over the placement of cadres. More so, Abhishek has been trying to bring his followers into the party - something which Mamata has denied," says a source in the party.

Even so, the party is defending their Chief Minister. "BJP is trying to put false charges out of political vendetta. We are ready to fight this battle politically,” says state parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee.