Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s wrath tended to balloon in direct proportion to the elongating queue of senior Trinamool Congress leaders, including MPs and Ministers, at the Central Bureau of Investigation office at Kolkata’s Nizam Palace, even as she launched a fiery attack on the BJP Government for “victimising the Opposition parties.”
Coming down heavily on the Centre for “harassing those who dare to speak out against them”, Mamata on Friday said saffron outfit’s days were numbered. The immediate reason for her outburst was the marathon grilling for the second successive day of Kolkata Mayor and her Man Friday Sovan Chatterjee in the Narada pay off case.
Considered a skilled “man and fund manager” in the Trinamool ranks Chatterjee is also Fire Brigade Minister “They are intimidating us by unleashing CBI on us. They have been questioning our leaders on Narada and Sharada issues. They have grilled our leaders from Subroto Mukherjee to Sovan Chatterjee. They threw Sudip Bandopadhyay in jail. But let me make it clear that they will get nothing out of these intimidating tactics because I am not the one who succumbs to brow-beating,” Banerjee told a party core committee meeting discernibly devoid of the Mayor’s presence on his account of being grilled at the CBI office.
A visibly perturbed Chief Minister hit hard at the BJP saying those who were trying to victimize our dissent would one day run for cover.
The CBI had in quick succession questioned a number of TMC leaders including Saugato Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Aparupa Poddar, all MPs and Subroto Mukherjee and Sovan Chatterjee, Ministers besides issued summons to another powerful minister Suvendu Adhikary. “The BJP’s days are numbered and all their browbeating will end in 2019. They will face a hands down defeat at the hustling because of their deeds. No one is happy with them. They have alienated one and all, from farmers to workers to middle class to opposition. They will meet their nemesis in 2019 elections,” Banerjee said.
Meanwhile the Mayor was subjected to marathon 9 hours grilling for second consecutive days on Friday when two security guards were also questioned in front of him even as he continued to “stubbornly deny” having transacted with Mathew Samuel who had purportedly paid him several lakh of rupees inside his Mayoral office, sources said.
The Mayor had “continuously been misleading the officials on issues.
He has not only denied having taken money but also refused to share information about his properties saying his wife Rathan Chatterjee who managed his business had the details,” sources said. His wife who was also asked to appear before the CBI was currently undergoing treatment in England.