Mon Feb 03 16:50:44 UTC 2025: ## Trinamool MLA Apologizes for Corruption Allegations, Blames I-PAC
**Kolkata, February 3, 2025** – Veteran Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra issued a public apology on Monday for alleging that the party sold key positions, including ministerial posts, for large sums of money. Mitra, a long-time associate of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, had previously claimed on a Bengali news channel that securing a ministerial position required a ₹10 crore bribe.
Mitra retracted his statement, clarifying that he did not intend to implicate Banerjee and apologized for any offense caused. He attributed the alleged corrupt practices within the party to I-PAC, the poll strategy agency that spearheaded the Trinamool’s electoral victories in 2021 and 2024. Mitra claimed I-PAC introduced a system of fundraising without Banerjee’s knowledge, with some party members reportedly paying substantial sums for nominations, even without guarantee of success.
Responding to the controversy, Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim emphasized that cabinet appointments are the Chief Minister’s prerogative and urged that such accusations be addressed internally. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, however, asserted that he possesses evidence implicating I-PAC in corrupt dealings related to central government schemes. Mitra’s allegations have sparked intense debate within West Bengal’s political landscape.
First Piper 