Kolkata: Three senior politicians — Mukul Roy, Suvendu Adhikari and Sovan Chatterjee — all turncoats of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and accused of being involved in Saradha chit fund scam and Narada sting case, have been given important positions in the BJP.
While Roy was given the post of the BJP’s national vice-president a few months ago, Chatterjee, a former minister and ex-mayor of Kolkata, was appointed as the party’s observer of Kolkata zone Sunday. Adhikari, who joined the BJP this month, is being promoted as one of the star campaigners of the party ahead of the crucial West Bengal assembly elections.
From 2014 to 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Saradha and Narada issues remained the BJP’s primary political weapon against Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. The Narada sting operation had come just ahead of the 2016 assembly elections.
But now the induction of Roy, Adhikari and Chatterjee into the BJP has given ammunition to the ruling TMC to target the party, saying it’s a “washing machine” for corruption. The TMC also accused the BJP of breaking the party through intimidation, and appointing “corrupt” leaders who are calling the shots in the BJP.
The BJP, however, said the charges against the leaders were not dropped and that there is no interference with the law.
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TMC leaders probed by CBI, ED
Roy, Adhikari and Chatterjee are prime accused in Saradha and Narada cases.
The CBI interrogated Roy several times in the course of its investigation into the Saradha case.
According to the CBI’s petition in the Supreme Court, dated 23 December, Roy was one of the ‘key players’ in getting election funding from “Saradha group ponzi companies”.
“The examination of Shri Kunal Kumar Ghosh (Trinamool leader), by the Enforcement Directorate during October 2013 further reveals that Shri Sudipta Sen, promoter of M/s Saradha Ponzi Companies and Shri K. D. Singh promoter of M/s Alchemist Group had funded the West Bengal assembly election 2011 to the tune of crores of rupees,” according to the petition, accessed by ThePrint.
“Shri Kunal Kumar Ghosh further stated that Shri Rajat Mazumdar and Shri Mukul Roy were the key players in this election funding by M/s Saradha group ponzi companies. It is submitted that minimum 205 candidates were given Rs 25 lakhs each in cash other than the overall expenditure,” it added.
Adhikari’s name figured in the CBI’s probe report last year in connection with the Narada sting operation.
The Narada sting purportedly showed a dozen senior Trinamool leaders, including MPs and ministers, accepting bribes.
The CBI had in April 2019 appealed to the Lok Sabha Speaker, seeking approval to file a charge sheet against Adhikari, and TMC MPs Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sougata Roy and Prasun Banerjee.
Chatterjee, meanwhile, is under investigation by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with both Saradha and Narada cases. He was questioned by both the agencies multiple times.
According to a senior ED official, they are probing a money trail allegedly leading to Chatterjee in both the cases and the investigation is in an advanced stage.
TMC-BJP trade barbs
TMC leaders claimed the BJP is inducting the same leaders against whom they earlier levelled corruption charges.
“BJP used to call them thieves and now they are the most important leaders in the party. They hold senior positions in the (party) structure. So if they are in Trinamool, they are thieves, but when they join BJP, they become saints. Do Modi and (Amit) Shah have a washing machine?” said Trinamool MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee.
“They take corrupt leaders from other parties, and then they get their sins washed off in BJP’s washing machine,” he added.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, however, said the “plunderers are still there in Trinamool”.
“It is interesting to know that the Trinamool leaders are now accepting that corruption happened. They are calling their former party colleagues thieves now. The plunderers are still there in Trinamool. They will be brought to justice soon,” he said.
“Modi ji spares none, not even his party members. We have inducted some Trinamool leaders seeing their political capability. The charges against them were not dropped. The CBI is an independent agency and it goes on with a probe. Mukul da, Sovan da faced CBI and ED interrogation several times after joining us. Their names appeared in the probe report. Law will take its own course. There is absolutely no interference,” he added.
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Political leaders in india are mostly greedy inefficient corrupted ones who have no other option for livelihood except earning through hooliganism and bribes unlike kejriwal. Nothing beneficial for the societies can be expected from these corrupted politician including cheap ministers. Nota is the option.
Vijayvargiya says that plunderers still in TMC will be brought to book. But what about the plunderers who have crossed over and are now in BJP ? Have they become snow white angels ? The entire senior leadership of the BJP is running a whitewashing enterprise.
The only way infidels who believe in education and science and prosperity and don’t believe in conversion can survive is taking all infidels together.
Where the CM is obsessed with a religion who believes that infidels will burn in hell . There is no choice.