Shadow over Narendra Modi-Mamata Banerjee meet after Lalit Jha's arrest

New Delhi, December 15

A spat breaking out between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP over the arrest of Lalit Jha, said to be to be the key conspirator behind the Lok Sabha security breach, has cast a shadow on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s impending meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi next week.

Photos of Jha next to several TMC leaders have surfaced giving the BJP ammunition to fire salvos at Banerjee.

“Photos with TMC MLA Tapas Roy, TMC Youth Congress general Secretary Soumya Bakshi, and TMC Leader Rajesh Shukla suggest a disturbing connection. The pictures subtly hint at TMC’s deep involvement in the security breach. Why is Mamata Banerjee silent on this matter? What could be the reason behind her silence?” the BJP Bengal unit posted on X.

Sukanta Majumdar, West Bengal BJP president, also posted an image of Jha next to TMC’s Tapas Roy. Majumdar alleged that Banerjee had come up with a national anthem-like song depicting Bengal as a separate nation.

Amit Malviya, the BJP IT cell head, wrote on X, “Mamata Banerjee can’t remain silent on Lalit Jha’s association with her senior party leader Tapas Roy…”

In his defence, Roy said, “What can you prove by a photograph? I do not know the miscreant – neither by name nor face.”