Kolkata, Jan 8 (IANS): West Bengal Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari on Monday wrote to Income Tax Department seeking probe on source of funds for sponsoring the special benefit scheme for senior citizens introduced by Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

The government claimed that under the scheme, at least 76,120 senior citizens in Diamond Harbour will receive a month benefit of Rs 1,000 the cost of which will be met through donations from benevolent donors identified by the Trinamool volunteers.

In the communication to the I-T Department, a copy of which is available with IANS, the LoP has claimed that considering huge amount -- Rs 7,61, 20,000 crore -- involved there are apprehensions that the amount may have links with the several financial scams in the state in which central agencies like CBI and ED had been conducting parallel investigations.

“There are high chances that most of the donors are dubious and the sources of funds made available for the Private Pension Scheme has been somehow laundered,” the communiqué from LoP reads.

He also said that the scheme is an indirect attempt to influence the voters of Diamond Harbour before the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections this year.