Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday expressed disappointment over West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s reaction to the interrogation and arrest of some of Trinamool Congress leaders in the Saradha chit fund scam.
In his Facebook post, Mr. Jaitley wrote: “Some individuals connected with the TMC have been involved in making easy money from the Ponzi schemes that have looted small investors. As a new political party, it is incumbent on any responsible leader to purge the party of such leaders.”
He regretted that “Mamata Didi instead of doing that has chosen to identify herself with the cause of these leaders.”
Mr. Jaitley also took exception to Ms. Banerjee’s ‘similar’ reaction to the Bardhaman blast. “The National Investigation Agency has arrested several people who have engineered the blast. They are enemies of the State.”
He asked if the West Bengal Police or the other intelligence agencies have any substantive material to establish that the blast was stage-managed.
Addressing a meeting of party workers in Kolkata, Ms. Banerjee said on Saturday that the Modi government had stage-managed the October 2 Bardhaman blast with the objective of triggering riots in West Bengal. “If there is no such material, why has Didi chosen to allege that the blast was stage-managed,” Mr. Jaitley asked, adding that such allegations help the actual culprits. “This is neither responsible nor nationalistic.”
