Didi fumes at CBI phone call at party office

Angered by a phone call from the CBI office to Trinamul Bhavan for party’s all- India general secretary Subrata Bakshi, chief minister and party chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that the Central investigating agency should directly speak to her if it wanted to seek any information.

Slamming the phone call, Trinamul Congress said it was politically motivated. Party secretary general Partha Chatterjee repeated his party’s stand that the BJP was using the CBI to settle political scores with political rivals. He also alleged that the CBI call was a pressure tactic ahead of the crucial civic polls. “The call was aimed at making our party nervous before the KMC and civic body polls. Ahead of the Bangaon and Krishnaganj byelections, the CBI had similarly tried to intimidate us by sending letters,” he added.

Mr Chatterjee also saw a link between the CBI phone call and Ms Banerjee’s call for a protest rally against Modi government’s land acquisition bill on April 8. “The CBI phone call came only two hours after Ms Banerjee announced the protest rally. This was clearly a counter attack against us. However, such tactics cannot deter us from launching movements against Centre’s anti- people policies,” he added.

Sources said that a little before 2 pm, an officer from the CBI office made a phone call to Trinamul Bhavan. Identifying himself as Karna, he wanted to speak to Mr Bakshi. He was informed that Mr Bakshi was away in Midnapore for party work. Trinamul Congress leaders immediately apprised Ms Banerjee, who was in Alipurduar, of this phone call.

“She was extremely upset. She called Partha da and told him to take a tough stand against the CBI,” a party leader said.

Sources said that Ms Banerjee, who was travelling from Alipurduar to Bagdogra airport to catch a flight to Kolkata, said that if the CBI was a responsible agency then why it was not sending written request seeking information instead of making phone calls. “Didi also said that the TMC was a transparent party and it had filed its tax returns for the year 2011- 12, 2012- 13 and 2013- 14. She also said that Mukul Roy was party general secretary during that period then why was CBI trying to pester Subrata Bakshi,” a party leader said.