Suvendu Adhikari & brother Soumendu booked for allegedly 'stealing relief materials'

In yet another escalation between TMC and BJP, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has filed a complaint against Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday, alleging he and his brother Soumendu Adhikari were stealing relief material from Kanthi municipality. Based on TMC leader - Ratnadip Manna's complaint filed on June 1, Kanthi Police Station has filed an FIR. Manna who is a member of Kanthi Municipal Administrative Board has alleged that Soumendu Adhikari - former Kanthi Municipal chief had ordered to forcibly open the lock of the civic office's godown and 'steal' relief materials worth Rs 1 lakh.

FIR filed against Suvendu & brother for allegedly stealing relief material

Moreover, reports state that Suvendu's close aide Rakhal Bera has been arrested by Kolkata police for allegedly duping people financially in lieu of job offers. Based on one Sujit Dey's complaint, Bera allegedly promised Dey a job in Irrigation and Waterways Ministry, demanding Rs 2 lakh for it. Dey alleged that Adhikari and his associates had taken the money, but not provided him a job, as per reports. Kolkata police have stated that Bera was part of a criminal conspiracy with Chanchal Nandi and a few others and allegedly organised a fake job racket in 2019.

Earlier on Saturday, Bengal BJP Mahila Morcha chief Keya Ghosh shared a list allegedly circulated by TMC, listing down 18 individuals to whom no items especially tea must not be sold by shopkeepers without TMC's permission.  Ghosh claimed that the common link to all listed members was that they were BJP workers. Shocked at the 'blacklisting', Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged CM Mamata Banerjee to ensure that all citizens in West Bengal are protected and not ostracised or denied the basics, while BJP MP Swapan Dasgupta said that this blacklisting was done to break the morale & the economic backbone of karyakartas.

Centre Vs Mamata

Days after being sweeping Bengal polls, Mamata Banerjee has locked horns with the Centre over ex-Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay's recall to Centre. Last week, hours after PM Modi held a Cyclone Yaas review meeting sans Mamata Banerjee, Centre asked the Bengal government to immediately relieve Bandyopadhyay, as he is supposed to report and join the Department of Personnel and Training in the North Block of New Delhi at 10 AM on May 31, 2021. Trinamool slammed the move, calling it 'vindictive politics' and 'forced central deputation', refusing to send him back.

Later, Bandopadhyay whose term had been extended till September 2021, opted to retire on his original date - May 31. Promptly, Banerjee has appointed him as an advisor to CM. On the other hand, Centre issued a  show-cause notice to Bandopadhyay for reporting 15 minutes late to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s May 28 cyclone review meeting and is now mulling 'administrative action' or 'statutory action' on him. The tiff started when Mamata Banerjee had refused to attend the review meeting chaired by PM Modi on Cyclone Yaas, allegedly due to Suvendu Adhikari's presence - who was invited to attend the meeting as Leader of Opposition.