Bengal Congress leaders have vehemently opposed Kapil Sibal’s view on CBI criticising the agency for its actions against the Trinamool Congress.
Criticising Sibal for linking the Bengal ruling outfit’s alleged involvement in the chit fund scam and the Herald controversy senior Congress leader and former MP Somen Mitra on Tuesday said “people like him (Sibal) don’t have to work at the ground level. They are not connected to the grassroots. They get promotion as ministers because of their stint in the Supreme Court. How they will understand what the general party workers who fight so hard for the party’s survival feel about situations like CBI action against the Trinamool Congress.”
Mitra a septuagenarian leader and a former PCC president added: “it is not surprising for him to denigrate the CBI because in doing so he is only backing chit fund accused and jailed politicians like Madan Mitra his client whose case he has fought for huge fees.”
On similar comments made by senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad the veteran Bengal leader said “we will have to expose the true face of Trinamool Congress before them” and added “we cannot equate our senior Congress leaders with some dirty and highly corrupt Trinamool politicians.”
Victimization of Rahul Gandhi and taking action investigating a multi-thousand crore fraud done on the people of a State were two different things, he maintained.
Though other Congress leaders were not as vocal as Mitra another party leader Abdul Mannan said: “The two are different issues because in case of the Trinamool the CBI is investigation is being conducted at the orders of the Supreme Court.”
leaders like OP Mishra said “today the Trinamool Congress is asking for dissolution of the CBI when they are found guilty of scams involving thousands of crores but till yesterday they used to seek CBI investigation against the Marxists at the drop of hat.”
Another senior leader requesting anonymity said “a national issue and a State issue should not be mixed up with and the political statements made by certain leaders must not be read as Congress’ support for a scam-tainted party in Bengal.”
PCC leaders had been opposed to sending any pro-Trinamool message to the people and had even disagreed with the idea of forming any electoral alliance with the ruling party in the next year’s Assembly elections. In a meeting with the party’s central observer CP Joshi they had unanimously preferred the left Front to the TMC.