BJP distances itself from arrest of 2 TMC Ministers by CBI; rejects 'vendetta' charge

In its first reaction to the arrest of two TMC Ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, BJP on Monday distanced itself from the CBI action in the Narada sting case. Besides them, TMC MLA Madan Mitra and ex-party leader Sovan Chatterjee were also reportedly taken into custody. Chatterjee's wife Ratna, TMC MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Santanu Sen and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee have also arrived at the CBI office in Nizam Palace. 

Meanwhile, former BJP West Bengal president Rahul Sinha attributed this development to the Supreme Court's "instructions". Rejecting the charge that the saffron party is indulging in vendetta politics, he pointed out that it is TMC which carried out violence after the recently concluded Assembly polls. Previously, WB Governor Jagdeep Dhankar had sanctioned the prosecution of Hakim, Mukherjee, Mitra and Chatterjee by invoking his powers under Articles 163 and 164 of the Constitution. 

BJP leader Rahul Sinha remarked, "BJP has no connection with the CBI taking West Bengal Ministers Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee and two other TMC leaders into custody. The CBI effected these arrests on the instructions of the Supreme Court. TMC is unnecessarily using BJP as a shield. It is alleging the politics of revenge. After winning the election, TMC rendered lakhs of BJP workers homeless, destroyed their homes, committed atrocities on women and murdered BJP workers." 

The Narada sting case

According to reports, Narada news portal chief Mathew Samuel had contacted the then deputy mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and IPS officer SMH Mirza through local contacts in 2016. Reports add that Mirza then facilitated in establishing Samuel's contact with several top-ranking Trinamool officials like - Madan Mitra, Mukul Roy, Saugata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Prasun Bannerjee, Subrata Mukherjee and Iqbal Ahmed to name a few. Ahead of the 2016 West Bengal assembly polls, Samuel had posed as a businessman of Impex Consultancy Solutions floated by Samuel himself to conduct a sting operation.

Samuel while interacting with Mukul Roy, aides of Trinamool's Abhishek Banerjee had reportedly caught them on camera accepting bribes for illicit favours. Mirza was seen accepting Rs 5 lakh in cash from a businessman in one of the footages and has claimed that he was receiving the cash on Roy's instructions. CBI has arrested senior IPS officer SMH Mirza and questioned erstwhile TMC minister Mukul Roy too in connection to the case. It is pertinent to note that no coercive action has been taken against Roy, a BJP leader, until now.