In an embarrassing turn of events, an “awkward letter” from a party MP regarding Saradha chit fund case seems once again to have come back to haunt West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress leadership.
Months after the ruling party managed to give the Rs 20,000 scam case a decent burial of sorts, journalist-turned-Trinamool MP Kunal Ghosh has dredged up the issue seeking a CBI inquiry into the case much against the official party line which has endorsed a police probe.
He has reportedly asked the leadership to clear his name from the murky affair. The names of a bevy of Ministers and MPs, including Ghosh a former CEO of a television channel owned by the Saradha group had figured in the Saradha scam that had affected lakhs of people denting considerably the ruling outfit’s base popularity in south Bengal.
While the exact language of Ghosh’s letter — addressed to his party leadership — could not be known insiders said he had asked for a CBI probe into the matter. “He has asked for a CBI inquiry to find out his involvement in the case and has offered to resign his Rajya Sabha membership if found guilty,” a State leader and a Minister said adding “this is party’s internal matter and would be thrashed out internally.”
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had appointed a judicial inquiry under Justice (retd) Shyamal Sen soon after the case exploded in the face of the Government in April this year. The panel has received about five lakh complaints. The Chief Minister had also created a Special Investigation Team of the State Police to probe case. Notwithstanding, not a single leader save Ghosh has been summoned by the police for questioning in the past four months.
The Government had not only ruled out a CBI inquiry but also it had contested a PIl with a similar demand in Calcutta High Court which had without disposing off the case ruled that there was no immediate need for the probe to handed over to the Central agency.
A section of the Trinamool leadership contended that Ghosh was unhappy of having been robbed of key party posts including the privilege of proximity (to the Chief Minister) in public. Ghosh was currently editing a newly published Bengali newspaper.