Abhishek Banerjee accuses BJP of targeting opposition via fire audits

Abhishek Banerjee, the National General Secretary of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), has accused the BJP government of misusing state machinery to target opposition parties. The allegations surfaced following a fire safety audit conducted at the TMC party office in Kolkata.

Banerjee claimed the audit was a publicity stunt accompanied by media presence. He questioned why such administrative urgency was not displayed when 12,000 election machines—including 4,000 control units, 4,000 ballot units, and 4,000 VVPATs—were destroyed in a mysterious fire a month before the elections. He further alleged collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission, suggesting that if audits had been conducted properly in government offices in Alipore, the election machines might have been saved.