CPM Protests in Front of CBI, ED Offices Demanding Speedy Probe into Corruption Cases in Bengal Subtitle: Party Leaders Accuse BJP and Trinamul of Colluding to Protect Corrupt Politicians

On Thursday, the CPM gathered in front of the CBI and ED offices at the CGO complex in Salt Lake to call for the completion of the investigations into numerous suspected incidents of corruption in Bengal by the central authorities as soon as possible.

On Saturday, CPM officials and members marched from Ultadanga to the CGO Complex in Salt Lake City, where a meeting was held.

Md. Salim, the secretary of the CPM state unit, asked at the meeting that government organizations conduct investigations impartially and without political bias. Salim claimed that the Trinamul party led by Mamata Banerjee had denied government positions to eligible applicants in order to provide them to the undeserving in exchange for money.

"Bhaipo (Mamata's nephew and Trinamul leader Abhishek Banerjee) planned to bring several lakhs of people to Delhi (to protest the Centre delaying Bengal's dues). Only 2,000 people showed up. Salim stated, "I firmly believe that everything was scripted and prepared between the BJP and Trinamul, and that the Bengali government and the Centre were working hand in hand.

Several CPM officials at the gathering claimed that the national government's tardiness in looking into the "scams" involving teachers' employment and municipal hiring was evidence of the alliance between the BJP and Trinamul.

Despite court-monitored investigations, CPM leaders Biman Bose, Surjya Kanta Mishra, and Sujan Chakraborty said the BJP was ordering the central agencies to move slowly, and high court judges were complaining about the holdup.

Speaking during the protest, Chakraborty criticized the ED for its callous lack of action against Abhishek.

"They are paid by taxpayers yet support a corrupt government. The government agency is hesitant to pull up its socks, despite numerous times the court has called the ED out for it, Chakraborty added, hinting to a "setting" or agreement between the BJP and Trinamul.

The battle against corruption must be fought on the streets because we can never expect transparency from the ED as Trinamul managed to reach an understanding with the top BJP leadership to save the kingpins of the state's corrupt cartel, according to an elderly party worker who walked the entire length of the rally from Ultadanga to the CGO complex. Even high court justices have expressed their frustration with the ED and CBI for taking so long to investigate the frauds.

In a memo to ED authorities, a CPM delegation also called for a transparent and expedited investigation into the "scams".

Salim told the crowd that the ED and CBI were attempting to sweep the frauds under the rug with the BJP-Trinamul setup as leaders approached the CGO Complex to deliver the memo. This has to end. It is necessary to find deserving educators. Scam lords must serve time in prison. Transparency in the hiring process is required.