'Will CBI Now Enter People's Washrooms?' Bengal CM Mamata On Raids At Municipalities

Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said that the CBI was being deployed everywhere to divert people's attention. "The CBI is entering everywhere. Will they now enter people's washrooms," she asked.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched another attack on the central government on Wednesday, criticizing the day-long raids conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at various municipalities in the state. She questioned whether these agencies would now intrude into people's personal washrooms. The CBI is conducting the raids to investigate the alleged recruitment scam.

During an event in Kolkata, where compensation cheques were distributed to the families of victims from West Bengal who lost their lives in a train accident in Odisha's Balasore district on June 2, Banerjee addressed the gathering and accused the government of trying to suppress the causes of the accident. She claimed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was being deployed everywhere to divert people's attention. "The CBI is entering everywhere, including municipalities in West Bengal. Will they now enter people's washrooms," she asked in a rhetorical dig at the Centre.

Earlier in the day, as the CBI conducted simultaneous raids at 14 locations, Firhad Hakim, the Municipal Affairs Minister and Mayor of Kolkata, dismissed these heightened activities by central agencies as nothing more than narrow-minded politics.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is conducting a parallel investigation into the alleged multi-crore recruitment scam in the municipalities, estimated that approximately Rs 200 crore had been collected in the fraudulent scheme. According to ED sources, these funds were obtained through the sale of job positions such as cleaners, ambulance drivers, peons, and pump operators, with each position being sold for amounts ranging from Rs 4,00,000 to Rs 7,00,000.

Sources further revealed that a total of 14 municipalities are currently under scrutiny by investigative agencies due to alleged irregularities in the recruitment process for clerks and workers, involving the exchange of money.

Mamata Banerjee is likely to attend the mega meet of the Opposition convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on June 23.