West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta has acknowledged that extortion continues in the state despite a change in government in the state, news agency PTI reported. He said public confidence could not be fully restored until the practice was stopped.Dasgupta said the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government should be given a year to eliminate extortion.His remarks came a day after BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya warned party workers against allowing lawlessness and misconduct in the name of the party.Responding to reporters on Saturday, Dasgupta described extortion as a disturbing reality that must be addressed through political and economic measures. "Extortion is happening here.

That is the truth. As long as it is not stopped, people's trust cannot be fully restored," he was quoted as saying by PTI.The minister admitted that he had not been able to completely eliminate the practice even in his Assembly constituency of Rashbehari in south Kolkata, despite efforts to curb it. "Personally, I have done whatever I could to stop it in my constituency.

But I cannot claim to have achieved it 100 per cent. It has become a habit among people.

When nothing else works, this seems to have become the new normal," Dasgupta said."Let us give it a year to stop it," he added.At a party programme in Dum Dum on Friday, Bhattacharya asked BJP workers to identify those involved in wrongdoing and lodge police complaints against them, irrespective of their political affiliation."Lawlessness cannot be allowed. Identify those who are trying to tarnish the party's name and flag, and file FIRs against them.

Police minister Suvendu Adhikari is there. Give me the documents, and I will ensure action," Bhattacharya said.Dasgupta's comments, made within 24 hours of Bhattacharya's remarks, prompted fresh political reactions.

Opposition parties questioned the BJP government's claim that the state's political culture had changed.CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said the statements exposed contradictions within the ruling party."On the one hand, Bhattacharya says those involved in wrongdoing are not from the BJP, while on the other, he acknowledges that lawlessness exists. Dasgupta admits that extortion has not been stopped.

It is becoming difficult to distinguish between the BJP's face and its mask," he said.Trinamool Congress leader and MLA Kunal Ghosh also criticised the BJP, alleging that its leaders and workers were increasingly becoming involved in extortion and bribery."From top to bottom, people associated with the BJP are getting involved in extortion and taking bribes. They are also inducting those who were involved in wrongdoing while in the TMC, offering them various packages.

They cannot have such people in their ranks and, at the same time, complain about lawlessness and extortion," Ghosh said.- Ends(With PTI inputs)