WION

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) mouthpiece in West Bengal, known as ‘Ganashakti’, made startling claims on Friday.

The newspaper carried a front page story saying that hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, the Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party deposited Rs 1 crore into its bank account comprising Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.

On the afternoon of November 8, a bank account at Indian Bank’s Central Avenue branch registered in the name of BJP – West Bengal bearing an account number 554510034 recorded a transaction wherein Rs 60 lakhs were deposited, comprising notes of Rs 1,000 denomination. A few hours later, another transaction was recorded, wherein Rs 40 lakhs were deposited, this time comprising notes of not just Rs 1,000 denomination, but also Rs 500 notes.

The CPI(M) party claims that the Rs 1 crore deposited in the bank account of BJP’s Bengal unit hours before PM Modi’s announcement revealed that close quarters of the party were aware of the government’s move of demonetisation.

“Why did the BJP suddenly deposit this huge amount of Rs 1 crore hours before the announcement? Were they aware that PM Modi was to make the announcement the same evening? This is not just an attempt to convert black money to white, but also reveals that the party was aware of the government’s move,” said CPI(M) state secretary, Surya Kanta Mishra.

Left Front Legislative party leader and CPIM MLA Sujan Chakraborty took a dig at the ruling party at the Centre, saying that more such transactions have taken place across the country. “Here we have evidence of this transaction taking place in Bengal. But, similar transactions have taken place in other parts of the country, hours before the announcement,” Chakraborty claimed.

On the other hand, President of BJP’s Bengal unit, Dilip Ghosh ruled out the possibility of conversion of black money to white. “First of all, I’m not aware of any such transaction taking place. Even if this huge amount has been deposited, there is nothing wrong. We must have sent the money to Delhi for election-related expenses. The party does not lack funds in this part of the country,” said Ghosh.

Another leader of the Bengal unit of BJP, Jayaprakash Majumdar said that it was a completely legal bank transaction.