Chief Minister not above suspicion: CPI-M on Narada

Kolkata, March 17 (IANS) Targeting West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee after the Calcutta High Court ordered a CBI probe into the Narada sting operation case, CPI-M state Secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra on Friday said she was "not above suspicion".

"I can't say the Chief Minister's hand is clean, or that she is above suspicion with regard to Saradha (multi-billion rupee Saradha chit fund scam) or Narada," Mishra told the media, calling upon the central agency to quickly dig out those involved in the larger conspiracy by bringing under its dragnet all the big fishes.

Mishra, who did not take Banerjee's name, said the Chief Minister's comments on the Narada controversy from time to time was full of self-contradictions.

The purported sting footage uploaded by a portal Narada News in March last year showed a number of prominent Trinamool Congress leaders, including ministers and MPs and state legislators, taking wads of currency notes in lieu of doling out favours to a fictitious company.

The videos, which had come to light in the midst of the state assembly election campaign, became a major issue, with the opposition harping on it in every meeting.

Refering to Banerjee's speech ahead of the polls that she would not have given nomination to those shown in the Narada footage had she known about the videos earlier, Mishra said: "After the polls, she ordered a probe.

"Today, the court has said the police acted like a 'puppet'," said Mishra, asking at whose bidding the police were trying to hush up the matter and shield those seen in the videos.

"Who is running this government? The court has asked for steps against an IPL officer. Why was not action taken against him all these months?" he said referring to senior police officer S.M.H Mirza, who purportedly figured in the video, with the portal claiming that he described himself a "key person who collects funds for the Trinamool Congress".

Ridiculing Banerjee's claim that those seen accepting money had only taken it as donation to fund their election campaign, Mishra said: "Does that mean IPS officers take the donations on behalf of your party? Do the conversations heard in the tape indicate donation?"

Mishra also repeated the old opposition allegations of Banerjee meeting Rose Valley group chief Goutam Kundu -- now in jail in connection with the ponzi scam involving his company -- at a Bungalow in Darjeeling district's Delo in 2012. He also raised question over Banerjee's painting being sold for an astronomical amount.

"She has never given any proper reply. Whatever she has said has only deepened the suspicion," he said.

"Chit fund scam, Rose Valley, meeting at Kalimpong's Delo, lot of questions we had asked. How much money her pricture fetched? But, there was no proper reply.

"People believe she is not clean. She is not above suspicion. Whatever she has done, has only deepened the suspicion," said the CPI-M politburo member.

BJP national Secretary Rahul Sinha also made a veiled reference to the Chief Minister. "Wherever there is some whiff of corruption, the link to Kalighat (place in south Kolkata where Banerjee resides) is always there."