Saradha chit fund scandal: Mukul Roy offers to resign from party post following CBI summons

Kolkata:

Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary and Member of Parliament (MP) Mukul Roy has offered to resign from all party position following the summons of Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) in relation to the Saradha chit fund scandal.

In the 40-minute close door meeting between party chief and chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, Roy had expressed his desire to resign so that if indicted in the scandal, the party will not be directly responsible.

However, Banerjee has not only refused his request, but has also made him the chief strategist for upcoming by-polls in the state of one parliamentary constituency and one state assembly.

“The question of removing him [Roy] does not arise. He will remain as the party’s [all India] General Secretary and also as MP. Only because one has been called [by the CBI] has he to be removed?” TMC secretary-general and the state’s Education Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters here.

“BJP is using it [CBI] as a tool for political vindictiveness. Information is being given in advance as part of the conspiracy to harass and intimidate. Since the day CBI started probing the Saradha case in Bengal, in the name of investigation it is conducting itself at the dictates of BJP leaders to harass the TMC leaders and is being used to serve the political vendetta,” Chatterjee alleged.

In between, Roy had sought an extension of 15 days to appear before the CBI, but the agency which is probing the case in “time bound manner” has granted only seven days.

“I had confirmed to CBI, while I was Delhi that I would appear before it. In between, the by-poll to one parliamentary seat and one assembly seat in West Bengal was announced. Since I am a key functionary of the party and would be preoccupied with the by-election, I have sought 15 days time from CBI,” Roy told Gulf News over phone, before leaving for New Delhi.

However, CBI officer have only granted him seven days, citing that his testimony is critical for the framing of charges against the key accused who are now under arrest.

“His testimony is critical in framing charges against the key accused in the case. We are proceeding on a time-bound manner and do not want to delay his interrogation,” said an investigating officer.

CBI officials are in a hurry as many including prime accused Sudipto Sen and his aide Debjani Ghosh has been under CBI custody for over six months. If the charges is not filed within a stipulated timeframe, they will be granted bail by the court. The agency during the course of its investigation has also arrested state cabinet minister Madan Mitra and TMC MP Srinjoy Bose.

Meanwhile, in the simmering cauldron of Bengal politics, TMC minister Manjul Krishna Thakur on Thursday quit the ministry and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Thakur, who holds the refugee, relief and rehabilitation portfolio in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, joined the BJP along with his son and panchayat (village council) functionary Subrata Thakur.

“Many more will join the BJP in this calendar year, as people within the party are worried that the way TMC is functioning,” said state BJP chief Rahul Sinha.