Bharatiya Janata Party has removed the sting operation video from its official YouTube channel that showed former Trinamool Congress (TMC) and current BJP members Mukul Roy and Suvendu Adhikari taking bribes.
The video uploaded was of the sting operation by Narada News in 2016.
The sting operation was carried by Mathew Samuels, who targeted high-ranking officials and politicians of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). The operation exposed several politicians and high-ranked police officers, who were seen accepting cash in exchange for providing unofficial favours to a company.
Among the prominent TMC leaders who were caught on camera accepting bribes, Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy are now in BJP.
However, the channel contains the video of Home Minister Amit Shah in an interview with news channel Aaj Tak, where he talks about the Narada Scam. Shah said the entire country saw TMC leaders taking bribe on camera.
Roy joined the party in 2017, whereas Adhikari recently joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Amit Shah, both were most trusted aides of Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee.
BJP had organised mass protests across Bengal demanding the resignation of Roy, who was a TMC MP then, HW News reported.
The videos and the screenshots resurfaced on social media platforms right after Adhikari joined BJP. The video screenshots shared by YouTuber, Dhruv Rathee, received more than 7,500 retweets and over 31,000 likes.
4 years ago, BJP had posted sting operation of these two politicians caught taking bribes.Both Mukul Roy and Suvendhu Adhikari have now joined BJP happily. pic.twitter.com/RumeIigGp0
— Dhruv Rathee (@dhruv_rathee) December 20, 2020
BJP received massive outrage from netizens for deleting the video from its official channel after Roy and Adhikari joined the party. People called out the party for its hypocrisy.
BJP has deleted Narada sting operation video from its you tube channel as Shubhendu Adhikari joins BJP. #WashingmachineParty
— Shripad Chalak (@ShripadChalak) December 21, 2020
Show me a single BJP leader who after joining the party is accused of corruption? If anyone thinks BJP condones corruption they are under false hopes. BJP will allow the corruption cases to be separately handled. So in some manner you are accepting corruption happened?
— Anjan Kannan (@anjankannan) December 21, 2020
Hahaha… They deleted the video of suvendu adhikari after he joined BJP.. That’s what their policy.. Blackmailing leaders.. With agencies.. And make them join BJP..
— Mohammed Hussain (@huspharma) December 21, 2020
Though the video has now been deleted from the official BJP Youtube channel, the Facebook page of West Bengal BJP still has a video from 2016, where Roy can be heard directing the person to deliver the said amount to his office.
The official page also contains the list of leaders on its timeline who were accused in the 2016 sting operation.
Mukul Roy, the former railway minister was once second-in-command to Banerjee but fell out of favour when CBI summoned him in connection with the Saradha scam. Suvendu Adhikari was the party’s youth face until the CM promoted her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
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