‘Why are there not 36, 38 or 40 cases against Mamata?’ Rahul says BJP’s real fight with Congress in Bengal is not TMC

New Delhi: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi On Saturday, he stepped up his attack on the Center during the West Bengal Assembly campaign, questioning the chief minister why Mamata Banerjee Despite serious corruption charges, has not faced multiple criminal cases Trinamool Congress (TMC). He asked why there were not “36, 38 or 40 cases” against the TMC chief, even though he himself was still facing multiple legal proceedings.Addressing a public meeting at Saheed Minar, Gandhi claimed that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has filed several cases against him, similar investigative action has not been taken against Mamata Banerjee. He claimed this was because the TMC supremo did not directly confront bjp Same way as Congress.“I am here today and I have been released on bail. Narendra Modi took away my official residence. He took away my Lok Sabha membership. Why are there no 36, 38 or 40 cases against Mamata Banerjee? The entire Bengal knows that the people of Trinamool are addicted to corruption. The Saradha fund scam was done by the people of Trinamool. It ruined 17 lakh investors. There are 1700 Ten thousand rupees in unpaid dues. Hundreds of thousands were defrauded in the Rose Valley scam, but Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP did not conduct any investigation against Mamata Ji because they knew the real fight was not with the Congress.”Gandhi Syed Mamata and Prime Minister Modi are “two sides of the same coin” as neither of them cares about the aspirations of common people. “The Prime Minister claimed that he was a true nationalist. But he did nothing for the poor. He did everything for the millionaires. Before the Left Front rule, the Congress ruled West Bengal. There were multiple industries in the state at that time,” he said. The Congress leader added: “Mamata Banerjee too, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, does not care about creating jobs for the youth. Both the Prime Minister and the West Bengal Chief Minister care about themselves. What Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing in India, Mamata Banerjee is doing in West Bengal. “The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha further compared the investigative scrutiny he faced with what he described as no action by the ED or CBI against the West Bengal chief minister.The Congress leader said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) interrogated him for 55 hours over five consecutive days and asked: “For how many hours was Mamata Banerjee interrogated?”Gandhi reiterated that no central investigation agency has taken action against the TMC chairman. Addressing another poll rally in Serampore in Hooghly district during the second phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, Gandhi said: “This is because she is not fighting the BJP directly.”He also highlighted the legal cases pending against him and said he frequently travels across state lines to attend court proceedings.“My house was confiscated, my Lok Sabha membership was cancelled; 36 cases were registered against me,” Gandhi said.The Congress leader said he has to travel to various states including Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar every 10-15 days to deal with the cases registered against him.“I would like to ask Narendra Modi how many cases have been registered against Mamata Banerjee?” he asked.Gandhi asserted that only the Congress could ideologically confront the BJP and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been targeting him, party president Mallikarjun Haq and others.Asserting that Prime Minister Modi criticizes the TMC chief only during elections, he said: “Let the Bengal elections end; Narendra Modi will not say a word to Mamata Banerjee.”He further said that the BJP understands that only the Congress can challenge its ideological framework and not the Trinamool Congress.Gandhi accused the TMC leadership of destroying industries and causing unemployment in West Bengal and claimed that job opportunities were allocated through political connections.“One has to have relatives in TMC to get a job in Bengal, otherwise he will not get any job,” he said, accusing the chief minister of working in the interests of “goons” and party workers.Gandhi also claimed that major scams such as Saradha and Rose Valley were carried out under the TMC regime and affected lakhs of investors.He further alleged widespread coal smuggling, illegal mining and what he called “Gonda tax” collection in the state.He accused the TMC of behaving against opposition workers similar to what the BJP has allegedly done in other states.Gandhi also referred to the 2021 TMC polls’ promise of five lakh jobs, raising questions about its implementation and cited unemployment-related concerns in the state.The remarks come as political exchanges between the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the TMC intensify during the ongoing election campaign in West Bengal.Voting in the first phase of the assembly elections concluded at 6 pm on Thursday with a significant increase in voter turnout at 91.78 per cent in West Bengal, according to the Election Commission. The second phase of voting will be held on April 29, with vote counting scheduled for May 4.