West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta has admitted that even after the change of government, extortion is going on in the state. Responding to questions from journalists on Saturday, he said that unless this practice is stopped, people's trust cannot be completely restored. He has said that the government will be given one year's time to end it.
Swapan Dasgupta called this a worrying truth. According to him, to deal with this, steps will have to be taken at both political and economic levels. He said that recovery is taking place here and it is true. He has asked for time from the public.
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'Minister could not stop recovery in his assembly'
Swapan Dasgupta admitted that he could not stop it completely even in his assembly constituency. He is an MLA from Rash Behari seat of South Kolkata. He said that every possible effort was made to stop it in the area, but cannot claim 100 percent success. Swapan Dasgupta said that it has become a habit among people and when nothing else works, this seems to have become the new trend.
West Bengal President had also indicated
Bharatiya Janata Party state president Samik Bhattacharya had also given a similar statement a day earlier on Saturday. Abhishek Bhattacharya had told the workers at a party program in Dumdum on Friday that anarchy and misbehavior will not be allowed in the name of the organization.
Samik Bhattacharya had asked the workers to identify wrongdoers and lodge complaints with the police without looking at political affiliations. Samik Bhattacharya had also said that Police Minister Shubhendu is an officer. He asked the workers to give the documents and talked about taking action.
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What has the opposition said on recovery?
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said both statements show the contradictions within the BJP. According to him, on one hand, Samik Bhattacharya says that those doing wrong do not belong to BJP, on the other hand, he also believes in anarchy.
TMC leader and MLA Kunal Ghosh from Mamata Banerjee camp alleged that people associated with BJP are getting involved in extortion and bribery. He also alleged that those who did wrong things while in TMC are being included in BJP.
After the change of power in the state, questions are being raised on BJP regarding extortion from people associated with the party and allegations of misconduct. This issue has again come into discussion due to the statement of Finance Minister Swapan Das. Now the opposition has also said that the minister himself believes that nothing has changed in the state.