Union MoS Nisith Pramanik: ‘Mamata said she had no family save the people of Bengal … But see how she brought in her nephew’

Nisith Pramanik is one of the BJP’s most recognisable faces in West Bengal and at 38 years old the youngest minister in the Narendra Modi government. The Union Minister of State for Home is looking to retain Cooch Behar, which is one of the three seats in north Bengal going to polls in the first phase on April 19. In an interview, Pramanik, who switched from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to the BJP before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, talks toThe Indian Express about attacks on central agencies in the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s comments on him, and why the problem of undocumented migration across the India-Bangladesh border continues to persist.

Excerpts:

West Bengal is a state where no respect or heed is paid to the federal structure. Earlier, we saw the same thing happening with the CBI. Not only that, miscreants backed by the ruling party are hampering investigations but they are being shielded.

When the ED tried to interrogate Sheikh Sahjahan and its officials were assaulted, the police slapped cases on the officials. When the mothers and sisters of Sandeshkhali took up lathis to protest, the police were forced to arrest Shahjahan. The same thing repeats in every investigation. Sadly, the Chief Minister or a section of IPS officers who have taken oath under the Constitution are insulting it.

The honourable CM is misinterpreting the law and the Constitution. Does it suit her to insult the very Constitution she took oath on?

Mamata Banerjee gave false promises to the people of Bengal. She used to say she had no family of her own and that the people of Bengal were her family. But see how she brought in her nephew and nepotism began. Many able youth leaders were sidelined only to project Abhishek Banerjee. Wherever