Roar on rivals, silence on own ranks

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mamata at the rally. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya Calcutta, May 2: Mamata Banerjee today waved at a rally photographs and newspaper advertisements that she claimed established "links" between CPM leaders and the Saradha Group and other deposit-mobilising companies, but steered clear of commenting on Trinamul's alleged connections with such entities. Addressing her first public meeting since the Saradha crisis unfolded, the chief minister did not mention if she was planning action against Trinamul leaders whose names have cropped up in the default controversy, although she said "law would take its own course". She mentioned the arrests of murder-accused Trinamul councillors Mohammad Iqbal (Munna) and Sambhu Nath Kow, and Arabul Islam, charged with assaulting CPM veteran Abdur Rezzak Mollah. "These sham businesses prospered under the comrade friends and now they are blaming us," Mamata said at the rally in Shyambazar. The chief minister iterated that she didn't know about the operation of sham companies till the crisis surfaced on April 15. Had Mamata and finance minister Amit Mitra kept tabs on tell-tale signs such as dwindling small savings collections, the government could have averted the crisis precipitated by the sham companies. There, however, was no reference to any act of omission as Mamata focussed on the steps taken by her government in the aftermath of the Saradha crisis, such as passing a bill to protect investors, setting up a commission and a Rs 500-crore relief fund for depositors. While her claims brought loud cheers from the urban audience of around 3,000 — the presence of any cheated depositor was unlikely — convincing the rural people who have lost their life's savings will be easier said than done, a Trinamul leader said. "People want their money, which they had invested after seeing our party leaders in close proximity with the Saradha Group," he said. In blaming her political opponents and highlighting the steps taken by her government, Mamata was doing exactly what her predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had done at a rally in Panihati last week. Bhattacharjee had blamed Trinamul for the rise of sham companies, although his party was in power for 34 years, and stressed that he never allowed anyone with links to sham companies to come close to him. "This is the biggest tragedy of Bengal…. The two main political parties are trying to maximise political gains from the losses suffered by the poorest of poor by blaming each other. No one is talking about how they can be helped," said a professor of economics. Although the chief minister tried to address concerns by referring to the Rs 500-crore relief fund, the paltry allocation can't solve the problem as the default crisis could run into several thousand crores and affect lakhs of people in rural Bengal. Some in her party told The Telegraph that she had to take such a "political step" as the crisis had "exposed links" between the ruling establishment and sham companies. In a purported letter to the CBI, Saradha boss Sudipta Sen had levelled allegations against Trinamul MPs Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose. Subsequent probes by agencies have revealed that several other senior leaders had connections with Saradha. Despite the growing clamour for heads to roll, Mamata has not taken any action so far. Although Ghosh was not present at the meeting today, transport minister Madan Mitra, who had been the leader of a Saradha employees' union, attended the meeting. Trinamul MPs such as Somen Mitra and Subhendu Adhikari, who had warned against the mushrooming of "chit funds", were not present at the venue. "It is clear from her speech that she is not contemplating any immediate action against people like Ghosh, whose association with Saradha has been established beyond doubt. The party may distance itself from the journalist-turned-MP but a public action is unlikely as it will mean owning up responsibility," a Trinamul leader said. In her 75-minute speech, the chief minister almost echoed what the party's all-India general secretary, Mukul Roy, and industries minister Partha Chatterjee have been saying since the outbreak of the default crisis in mid-April. But she was more virulent in her attack. Mamata carried with her a thick file containing copies of CPM mouthpiece Ganashakti and the ready reckoner Dial, both of which had Saradha advertisements and photographs of CPM leaders, including that of Bhattacharjee and Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, with owners of illegal deposit-mobilising companies. "Uni na bolle kichhu boltam na (If he hadn't said a word, I too would have remained silent)," Mamata said, referring to Bhattacharjee's speech at Panihati. Mamata referred to Ghosh only once, saying he hadn't informed her that Saradha's media wing employees were not getting their salaries. "If I am not informed, how will I get to know?" she said. The chief minister also stressed that she had no family, which some Trinamul insiders said was an attempt to distance herself from allegations levelled against her nephew Abhishek Banerjee's company. Abhishek and his company Leaps and Bounds came under attack from CPM leader Gautam Deb. "Please don't link my name with anyone else. I stay alone. I am related to people and none else," Mamata said. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130503/jsp/bengal/story_16853279.jsp#.UYPLp6KBlA0