Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Nawab Malik on Tuesday slammed BJP and accused it of misusing powers of the Centre to destabilise Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal.
Nawab Malik said that transfer of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers from the state is a very serious matter and his party chief Sharad Pawar will raise this issue with leaders of other political parties.
"BJP is misusing powers of Centre to destabilise the West Bengal government. Law and Order is a state subject. Without any consent, IPS officers have been withdrawn from the state. This is a very serious matter. Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar have discussed this matter," Nawab Malik told ANI.
"Sharad Pawar will discuss this issue with leaders of other political parties also. The meeting will be somewhere in Delhi. If necessary, Mr Pawar will definitely go to West Bengal," he added.
On Monday, Nawab Malik had said that Mamata Banerjee called up Pawar on Sunday and discussed the issue.
The BJP and Trinamool Congress are currently locked in an all-out political war ahead of the Assembly election in West Bengal in mid-2021.
On December 17, the Central government asked three IPS officers from Bengal to report for central deputation with immediate effect, overriding the state government's objections that they could not be spared.
The three IPS officers were responsible for the security of BJP national president J P Nadda whose convoy was attacked by alleged Trinamool Congress activists during his recent visit to West Bengal where Assembly polls are due in April-May next year.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is opposing the Centre's move, on Sunday, expressed gratitude to these opposition leaders for voicing solidarity with the state on the issue.
Captain Amarinder Singh, Arvind Kejriwal, Bhupesh Baghel, and Ashok Gehlot, chief ministers of Punjab, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan respectively, recently alleged that the Centre's order transferring three IPS officers on deputation is interference in the functioning of West Bengal's administration.
