'BJP Putting Everyone in Jail to Win Elections', Says Bengal CM After Hemant Soren's Arrest

After Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's arrest, his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Santipur: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came down heavily on the BJP a day after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was put under arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged land scam case. She alleged that the saffron party was imprisoning opposition leaders in a bid to canter in upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Mamata Banerjee was speaking at a public distribution event here in Nadia district when she reacted to the countrywide crackdown on opposition leaders saying even if she was put in jail, she would wriggle out of it.

"BJP is putting everyone in jail only to win the election," Banerjee said without naming Soren. Reiterating that while Trinamool Congress was keen to ally with the Congress for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, but Congress that refused to accept her proposal.

"We desired an alliance, but the Congress did not agree. They have joined forces with the CPI(M) to assist the BJP in the elections," she alleged.

Earlier, the opposition parties rallied behind Soren accusing the ruling party of suppressing the opposition's voice via agencies like CBI and ED. The opposition reactions came a day after JMM leader and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was arrested on money laundering charges.

BJP leaders, however, said he was arrested according to the law. On Soren's arrest, Trinamool Congress Parliamentarian Saugata Roy said, "It is part of the government's efforts to stifle the opposition. The ED and the CBI are the main arms of the government to stifle the opposition."

It may be recalled that Soren had stepped down as chief minister prior to his arrest, and named Jharkhand Transport Minister Champai Soren as the next chief minister of Jharkhand.

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