West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta has admitted that extortion is still happening in the state.
This is despite a change of government, with the BJP now in power.
Dasgupta spoke to reporters on Saturday. He said the government should be given a year to end the practice.
He also said public trust cannot be fully restored until it stops.
Key points
- Dasgupta says extortion continues under the new BJP government.
- He has asked for one year to eliminate the practice.
- He admitted he could not stop it even in his own Rashbehari constituency in south Kolkata.
- Opposition parties say the admission contradicts the BJP's claims of a change in political culture.
What did the minister say about his own area?
Dasgupta is the MLA for Rashbehari, in south Kolkata. He said he had tried to stop extortion in his constituency.
But he said he could not claim full success. "It has become a habit among people," he said.
"When nothing else works, this seems to have become the new normal."
Why do the party's own remarks matter here?
A day before Dasgupta's remarks, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya spoke at a party event in Dum Dum on Friday.
He asked workers to identify people involved in wrongdoing.
He asked them to file police complaints against such people, whatever their political affiliation.
Dasgupta's admission came within 24 hours of that call.
Graphic: News Anek, from the facts in this report
How are opposition parties responding?
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said the statements of BJP leaders showed contradictions within the ruling party.
He said it was becoming hard to tell the BJP's face from its mask.
TMC leader and MLA Kunal Ghosh alleged that people linked to the BJP, at every level, were getting involved in extortion and taking bribes.
These are allegations made by the opposition, and the BJP has faced questions on such claims since the change of power.
Explainer
What happened before
- The BJP now runs the government in West Bengal after a change of power.
- After the change, the BJP has faced questions over alleged extortion and misconduct involving people linked to the party.
- On Friday, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya asked party workers to file police complaints against wrongdoers.
Why it matters
The finance minister's admission shows that extortion remains a problem for ordinary people, and public trust is still at stake.
