‘ISF mixing religion with politics, party has lot in common with BJP’
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress on Friday alleged that ISF’s Naushad Siddiqui maintains connections with the BJP for the sake of money and he has been working at the behest of the saffron party.
The ruling TMC in the state claimed that ISF has been acting as a vote-cutting instrument for the BJP. Senior Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim and party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh held a press conference in which they exposed the alleged nexus between the BJP and the ISF.
Training guns on the opposition leader in the Assembly, the Trinamool Congress leaders said: “Suvendu Adhikari, who had openly said he does not care about the 30 per cent minority votes, is now claiming to be a leader of the Muslims. What can be more ironic than this?” They further said: “We’ve been hearing the name of Naushad Siddiqui for the past few days. Neither TMC nor Kolkata Police have any intention of maligning any particular religion or community. However, in the name of religion, if one engages in politics with a political party (BJP) that has time-and-again insulted the minorities, then it should be condemned by us all.”
The leaders also alleged that the BJP has always engaged in communal politics ever since its inception. It has repeatedly targeted the minority communities, be it in Gujarat in 2002, where over 2,000 people were killed, or in Delhi in 2020 in which over 90 people died.
“We have seen what happened during ISF’s rally on January 21 where police officers were attacked by its supporters. The cops have approached the courts, and we have nothing to do with that matter since its sub-judice,” alleged Trinamool.
They also raised questions on the huge source of money in Siddiqui’s account. “We are here because some facts have come to the light after Kolkata Police made some startling claims. We want to know the source of the money in Naushad Siddiqui’s bank account. And these are not claims that have been made by us, it is the Kolkata Police that has put these facts in the public domain,” claimed TMC.
“Where did those crores come from just before the 2021 Bengal elections? What was the purpose of such a huge sum being transferred to Naushad’s account? We always knew that the ISF had an understanding with the CPI(M). But where did the understanding with the BJP come from? We want an explanation regarding the political understanding between BJP and the ISF?” TMC added.
Meanwhile, Baruipur court on Friday rejected ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui’s bail plea and ordered six days of police custody in another case. They had filed an application in the court on Thursday seeking a production warrant for Siddiqui. He is named in an FIR with connection to disturbance in KLC police station area as well.
He was remanded to judicial custody till February 15 on Wednesday after he was produced at Bankshall Court in connection with the violence case in Esplanade area on January 21. Moreover, in the preliminary investigation, police have allegedly found a close association between Siddiqui and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
