Abhishek Banerjee’s ‘raze down my house’ message amid scrutiny over property empire

NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday said that his “fight against BJP” will continue after Kolkata civic authorities initiated a probe into the “legality” of properties owned by him.During a press conference, Abhishek launched a broadside against West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and said that he will not bow down even if the government raze down his house.“Our state had many chief ministers, but none like the current one. The one who was seen taking money on camera has been made the CM. Let them do whatever they want,” The TMC MP said.“Raze down my house, send notice. I won’t bow down over these things. Come what may, my fight will continue against the BJP,” he added.The notice is KMC’s first step when it starts a probe into alleged irregularities in a property. “We have pasted the notices on several properties owned by various individuals, including Abhishek Banerjee,” a KMC official said. The civic board has been under Trinamool’s control since 2010.Senior TMC leaders told TOI that the KMC move had upset the Banerjee family, which has decided to fight it legally. Sources said several party netas are in touch with the family and are strategising the steps forward. “The process of collecting all necessary legal documents and getting them vetted… has begun. Lawyers are being consulted, and preparations for a legal battle have started. This is not politics, but vendetta politics,” said a party senior.After failing to get any response from the Diamond Harbour MP, the officials pasted a notice under Section 401 of the KMC Act 1980 on the building’s wall, a KMC source said.Such a notice is issued when at least a part of a building is constructed without the civic body’s approval.“Serving such a notice also paves the way for demolition. Here also we will strictly go by rules. If major violations are noticed, we may need to initiate the demolition process,” said a KMC official.Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said properties owned by Banerjee and three others were under the scanner. He asserted that the govt would put the “corrupt ones” in prison.Addressing a rally at Vardaan Market, the CM talked about the crackdown on persons “accused in corruption cases” and mentioned names of individuals whose assets in the city are being investigated.“Abhishek Banerjee has 14 properties in the name of Leaps and Bounds, four in his name and six in his father’s name. Raju Naskar (promoter) in Beleghata has 18 properties. Sona Pappu has 24 properties, Javed Khan’s son has 90 properties,” Adhikari said.“Santanu Sinha Biswas (DC of Kolkata Police) and Sujit Bose (former minister) have been arrested. The BJP govt will put every corrupt person behind the bars,” Adhikari claimed.