Many TMC leaders will go to jail in ponzi scams: BJP

Kolkata, July 27 (IANS) BJP National Secretary Rahul Sinha on Saturday claimed that many Trinamool Congress leaders will go to jail in chit fund scam cases before Durga Puja this year.

The Bengal BJP leader said the "immersion procession" of the state's ruling party will start during the Puja.

"Trinamool's days are numbered. The Trinamool government in West Bengal is sending the BJP activists to jail in false cases. Now the time has come for the Trinamool leaders to go to jail in chit fund and extortion cases," Sinha told reporters here.

"Their 'Jail-yatra' (journey to the jails) will start before the Durga Puja. Many Trinamool leaders will not be able to see the Durga Puja. They will have to enjoy the Puja from inside the jail. Trinamool's immersion procession will start from the time of Durga Puja this year," he claimed.

Reacting to this, the Trinamool Congress came down heavily on Sinha for his remarks.

Senior Trinamool leader and state Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said: "Such comments are proof that central agencies like the CBI and ED, that are probing multiple chit fund cases in Bengal, are working under the "direct influence of the BJP leaders".

"Rahul Sinha is behaving as if he has extra-constitutional power. See where the BJP is taking this government that a party leader is directly threatening to send other politicians to jail. He is neither a part of the government nor the investigating agency. He has lost in the 2019 election himself," he said.

"It is evident that agencies like the CBI, ED are working under the influence of the BJP leaders like Rahul Sinha. His comments are a proof of that," he added.

The CBI and ED have in recent weeks summoned a number of leaders and loyalists of the Trinamool Congress in connection with ponzi scams like Saradha and Rose Valley in the state.