Srinjoy arrested for my participation in Cong event in Delhi: Mamata

Cornered by CBI probe in Saradha scam, Trinamool boss tries to latch on to its estranged ally

 

Cornered by CBI investigation in the Saradha scam, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today made an attempt to latch on to its estranged ally, Congress, saying that party MP,Srinjoy Bose, was arrested because she attended Congress' function in Delhi last week.

"I went to Delhi to attend Congress' function, that is why Srinjoy Bose is arrested. I''ll go a hundred times, thousand times, whenever there is a call from a secular front," Banerjee said, alleging that CBI is being used as a political tool by the BJP-led government at the Centre.

Banerjee, who had broken ties with the Congress and exited UPA-II two years ago, was in Delhi last week, on an invitation from Sonia Gandhi for a two-day function to commemorate Jawaharlal Nehru's 125th birth anniversary. However, she attended the first day of the function and skipped the second day, as sources close to her brought to her attention that she was not given due attention by the Congress top leadership.

Today, however, Banerjee made an attempt to get closer to Congress and similar "secular" parties and trained guns on the BJP.

She also asked party cadres to politically fight BJP. "There are trying to start riots in the state. We will never let them make this possible," she said, at a party workers' convention at the Netaji Indoor stadium here.

She, in fact, went ahead to challenge the Narendra Modi-government to impose President's rule in Bengal.

State Congress leadership, however, refused to respond to Mamata Banerjee's call. "Why is Mamata Banerjee so scared? It will not help her or TMC anyway," said Congress President Adhir Chowdhury said.

Meanwhile, a day after being arrested, a local court here, today sent him to CBI custody till November 26.

Srinjoy Bose is the second TMC leader to be arrested by CBI in Saradha scam. CBI had earlier arrested TMC leader and former West Bengal police chief Rajat Majumder, who used to serve the Saradha group reportedly as 'security advisor'.

Former TMC MP Kunal Ghosh is already behind the bars for opver an year in this case.

Another TMC leader, West Bengal transport minister Madan Mitra, who was also summoned by the CBI on Friday, however, did not appear before the investigating agency citing "poor health". Hours after receiving the summon on Wednesday evening, Mitra was admitted to a private hospital. On Thursday, he moved to government-run SSKM hospita