Calling MP Srinjoy Bose’s arrest a ‘conspiracy against Trinamool’, Party chief Mamata Banerjee dares the central government to impose President’s rule in state
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress MP Srinjoy Bose was sent to CBI custody on Saturday for his alleged complicity in the Saradha scam, as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the central government for its “divisive politics” and dared it to impose President’s rule in the state.
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Mamata Banerjee
Banerjee, also the Trinamool chief, said she would not be cowed down by the intimidating tactics of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government but would retaliate.
Addressing party activists, Banerjee said, “Just because I went to Delhi to attend a conclave of secular parties, they took revenge by arresting our MP.”
Ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “frequent foreign visits”, she said, “The man is in charge of the nation. How much time has he spent in India? People who have several cases of rioting against them, how can they point fingers
at us?”
MP Srinjoy Bose being produced at the Kolkata court. PIC/PTI
“If we are hit, we will hit back. We will pay them back politically for every action. They can impose Article 356 if they want,” the chief minister said, referring to the article that deals with failure of the constitutional machinery of the state, which leads to President’s rule.
“Other political leaders such as Sonia Gandhi are silent because they are afraid. However, you cannot keep me silent.
I fear no one. I cannot be silenced,” she said, announcing that her party will hold a rally in the city on November 24 against the central government’s “conspiracy against Trinamool”. Questioning the integrity of the CBI, which arrested Bose on Friday, Banerjee said, “About the CBI, I don’t have to say anything, the Supreme Court has already said enough about its credibility.”
Bose — arrested for his involvement in the Saradha scam on allegations of criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of funds and deriving undue financial benefits — was presented before a city court yesterday, which denied him bail and sent him to CBI custody till November 26.