How can BJP talk about eradicating graft when its ‘washing machine’ is at full spin in West Bengal: Congress

New Delhi, May 20

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The Congress on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should “shed light” on why the CBI and ED action against Suvendu Adhikari and Tapas Roy stalled after they joined the BJP and asked how the ruling party can make pretensions about eradicating corruption when its “washing machine” is at full spin in West Bengal.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posed several questions to the prime minister ahead of his rallies in West Bengal.

“Does the prime minister have any solutions to the Kurmi community’s demands? Can the prime minister clarify his stance on his Tamluk candidate Abhijit Ganguly’s anti-national statements? Did Suvendu Adhikari’s CBI case get washed away in BJP’s washing machine?” Ramesh said in a post on X.

Elaborating on what he called “jumla details”, the Congress general secretary alleged that the Modi government “shamelessly” used the Kurmi community to play vote bank politics without addressing any of their demands.

“The community has long demanded ST (Scheduled Tribe) status but the Modi sarkar continues to drag its heels in the matter, despite the state government submitting the Cultural Research Institute report to the Centre in 2017. Their upper caste leaders have been especially dismissive of the Kurmis’ demand,” Ramesh said.

The Congress’s Nyay Patra guarantees a nationwide caste survey to ensure that every backward community in India has access to the opportunities they deserve, Ramesh said.

“Will the outgoing prime minister ever stop paying lip service to the Kurmi community’s cause and meaningfully commit himself to a caste census? Will he recognise the Kurmi community’s religious practices?” he asked.