There was more embarrassment for the Trinamool leadership with Narada news portal on Monday releasing yet another visual of a sting operation showing party MP Aparupa Poddar and former State general secretary Shankudeb Panda accepting payment-for-favour from a make believe businessman.
Poddar is an MP from party's Hooghly stronghold Arambagh. While Panda — who was shown demanding a "benami estate" from the businessman in lieu of some favour — and whose role is already been investigated by the ED and CBI in the Saradha chit fund case was not available for comments.
Poddar rubbishing the charges of "bribe taking" said such donations were not a new thing and "could be part of some contribution to the election fund."
She unlike her party colleagues also said that she would resign if the video clippings were proved to be authentic. "I will resign within a week if the video is authentic" she maintained.
Panda is shown as demanding a stake in the subject "but I will tell the name in whose name the stake has to be."
Narada news had last week published the first video tapes where top Trinamool leaders including MPs and Ministers accepting bribes for future favour. The difference between the two exposes seems to be in the fact that while in the first instance none of the leaders accepted the charge in the second case Poddar tended to concede that some kind of transaction had indeed taken place.
The second case could bolster the allegations in the first case said some legal experts who said prima facie the Trinamool's claim that the earlier video was fabricated could be perforated by Poddar's statement. Your newspaper could not authenticate the contents of the video clippings and relied on the stated portals claims.