Thaindian News

Kolkata, April 16 (IANS) A senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Saturday accused the Trinamool Congress of using black money, touted as public donations, for the coming West Bengal assembly elections. The Trinamool, however, hit out at the Marxists’ “wild allegations” and said the party was open to a probe by the poll panel.

“All but one of the 226 Trinamool candidates have been given Rs.15 lakh each in cash. From where did they get this huge amount of Rs.33.9 crore?” Housing Minister Gautam Deb asked at a media conference here.

“Later, coupons of Rs.100, 200 and 500 each were issued purportedly to show that the money was collected from the public. In case of many coupons, the part to be given to the public (counterfoils) were put in sacks and set on fire. Sacks full of coupons can still be found in the Trinamool office,” Deb alleged.

Deb also claimed to have pictures of the sacks of coupons.

“Except for one, all of the rest 225 candidates took the money. I will not reveal the name of the person who refused to take the money, but I can give you the phone number of Upen Biswas, (Trinamool candidate from Bagda in North 24-Parganas). You can call him and ask for the details,” he added.

Claiming that a Trinamool candidate deposited a sum of Rs.7 lakh the very next day of opening his bank account, Deb said: “All this is being done at the behest of Mamata Banerjee and (union Minister of State for Shipping and senior Trinamool leader) Mukul Roy. The others are not even aware about it.”

Seeking the prime minister’s intervention, Deb said: “Nothing like this has happened before in our state. I will complain to the Election Commission. Hope the prime minister is listening, he needs to intervene.”

Deb also ridiculed Banerjee for her recent painting exhibition. “I think she herself doesn’t know what she has painted and those paintings were sold for a whopping Rs.2 crore. I wonder who has bought them. Will she come out with the details?”

Responding to the allegations, a belligerent Banerjee said the party was prepared to provide explanation only to the Election Commission.

“We will not answer any Tom, Dick and Harry. Who is he to seek answers from us on this? After having looted the state for 34 years, they have the audacity to ask such questions!”

Leader of the opposition in the assembly and Trinamool leader Partha Chatterjee said: “After realising that they have lost ground, the Left is now resorting to all means to stay afloat. They are making ugly personal comments to get back at us. They do not have the minimum of political courtesy.”

About Deb’s charges, Chatterjee said: “He is just making wild allegations. The man just keeps uttering non-sense things and make cheap personal remarks.”

“How can they make wild allegations without any substantive proof? The Election Commission will not even listen to them. Moreover, they don’t have the moral right to talk about corruption when they are themselves neck-deep in it.”

On Deb’s remark that a Trinamool candidate had deposited Rs.7 lakh in his account, Chatterjee said: “What’s the harm in putting money in the bank. If not in a bank, then where else should one keep his money?”

He also said the Trinamool was open to any investigation by the Election Commission (EC) into the party’s election funds and expenses.

Chatterjee also said that the party was in the process of collecting evidence for lodging complaint before the EC against some CPI-M leaders, including Deb, for making wild allegations.

Meanwhile, Upen Biswas - a former joint director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - said Roy had never offered him any money for the polls.

“I am running my poll campaign by utilising my monthly pension and from the funds collected by piecing together small donations of Rs.10 and Rs.50 given by voters of my constituency,” he added.