The TMC on Sunday said that the CBI searches at the residences of West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim and its MLA Madan Mitra were a desperate attempt to divert the attention from its ongoing demonstration outside the Raj Bhavan over demands of central funds.

The CBI began the searches at the houses of Hakim and Mitra in the morning as part of its investigation into the alleged irregularities in the recruitments made by the civic bodies in the state.