BJP stir to expose nexus between TMC leaders and vaccine scam mastermind: Dilip Ghosh

Kolkata, July 4

Stepping up its attack on the ruling TMC over the recent fake vaccination drive here, the BJP on Sunday said it would stick to its plan to take out a protest march to Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters, despite the police asking the party to call off the programme in view of the Covid-19 situation.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the ruling camp was trying to “hush up” the connection between Debanjan Deb, the alleged mastermind of the dubious drive, and a section of TMC leaders and KMC bosses, and his party will organise the demonstration on Monday to expose this “nexus”.

The fake vaccines may have endangered lives of many people, he reasoned.

“The administration, at the behest of the ruling party, is trying to force the BJP to withdraw its agitation as it does not want the issue to get highlighted. We will organise our protest with limited number of people following all Covid-19 guidelines. We have already informed the Kolkata police about our plan. The police, however, are trying to stop us at the last minute,” Ghosh said.

Deb, posing as the joint commissioner of the TMC-run civic body, had set up dubious vaccine camps in the city, which got busted after actor-turned-TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty, who had taken her jab at his Kasba centre, raised an alarm.

Sources in the Kolkata police said all gatherings are prohibited under the Disaster Management Act.

They also said that the police came to know about the BJP programme from social media, and accordingly informed the party about the restrictions.

Last week, student, youth and women’s organisations of the CPI(M) had staged a protest outside the KMC office, seeking immediate action against all those involved in the dubious drive.

The agitators were bundled into police vehicles and moved from the protest site, triggering allegations of high-handedness by the TMC administration. PTI