Agartala: The release of a video footage showing a CPI(M) local committee member of Jogendranagar, lying on the bundles of liquid money has left the party red-faced.
The footage, aired on the local channels, showed Samar Acharjee (Babul) stating that he had earned a profit of Rs 2.5 cr over the years by constructing 2400 low cost sanitary toilets in three Agartala Municipal Council (AMC) wards in the area.
“I have withdrawn Rs 20 lakh from my bank account to cherish the dream to sleep on the money-bed and I did it because I do not wish to be a hypocrite, like the average comrades who try to portray themselves as proletariat despite of having huge property,” he commented on screen.
Reacting on the footage, the party leader Samar Chakraborty stated that the incident came to their notice only after it had been telecast in the news channel and the party would investigate the matter and to take appropriate action against the accused.
The party State Secretary Bijan Dhar and Chief Minister Manik Sarkar were not found available for comment on the issue. None of the state leader agreed to make any comment over the event, which appeared to be an awkward situation for the Marxists.
Opposition Congress has also come out with sharp reaction and demanded a probe into the movable and immovable assets of the party leader from village panchayats to state leaders and ministers.
“Time has come to investigate the property of each and every CPI(M)leader. It is not right to campaign for so called the poorest Chief Minister from the Communist party who has a movable property of Rs 25 lakh without having PAN card – this is definitely not a sign of honesty,” alleged senior Congress legislator and former Leader of the opposition Ratan Lal Nath.
On the other, PCC Working president Asish Kumar Saha alleged that it was a clear case to prove how much black money in the hands of CPI(M) leaders and how dare they are to show it off. Moreover, it is also absurd to believe that by constructing 2,400 community toilets a person could earn Rs 2.5 Cr.
“We have been demanding probes into rampant corruption done by the ruling party leaders and cadres for years. This incident has proven our allegation yet again. A CPI(M) leader has just lost his mind out of involvement in corruption,” he stated. (UNI)
