In what could add on to Mamata Banerjee’s chit fund embarrassments, Gautam Kundu the owner of Rose Valley group has conceded that he had indeed held a “business meeting” with the Bengal Chief Minister at a Government bungalow at Dellow in Kalimgpong.
While Banerjee’s stated meeting with the Rose Valley boss whose company’s bank accounts were sealed by the ED a few days ago is not in itself a big issue, the alleged presence in the same meeting of jailed Saradha chief Sudipta Sen seems to have come as a big embarrassment for the ruling outfit, experts say.
Both Kunal Ghosh the jailed Trinamool MP and CPI(M) leader Gautam Deb had repeatedly alleged about the Chief Minister’s late evening meeting in March 2012 with the Saradha boss at Dellow in Darjeeling district where the duo reportedly exchanged assurances on various issues.
Already the meeting is under the CBI scanner. When asked to comment on the stated meeting Kundu said, “yes it did take place. My CEO and I had met the Chief Minister in a business meeting and we had taken prior appointment for that. After the meeting we left the place and returned to our hotels.”
While he would not say as to who else met Banerjee on the said date Ghosh had claimed that the meeting was juxtaposed with another such parley with Sen. He also said that apart from himself, senior Trinamool leaders including Mukul Roy was present in the meeting.
Ghosh had named 12 people behind the scam and Banerjee figured as one of them. Recently also he told the media while being taken to a city court that “if anyone who has extracted maximum benefit from the Saradha venture it is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.”
Meanwhile, in an alleged incident of vendetta former Trinamool Congress leader Asif Khan was issued summons by the Bidhannagar Commissionerate which had earlier been probing the Saradha case. While the summon issued to Khan is against a complaint filed by some UP Trinamool leader Abdullah inside sources said that he was being made to pay for his open deposition against the top Trinamool leadership in the Saradha chit fund case.