| Saturday , December 13 , 2014 |
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| First serving minister to be arrested |
| Our Bureau |
CHEHARAGULO DEKHLEI BHOY KORE: TRULY SPOKEN, CM Chief minister Mamata Banerjee declares at Nabanna on Friday evening that “you cannot bring police from Delhi and indulge in goondaism. Chehara guloi gundar moto… cheharagulo dekhlei bhoy kore (their appearances are like those of goondas… One feels scared when one looks at them)”. Picture by Pradip Sanyal Not to forget: The CBI had asked Madan to appear on Thursday. Friday was Madan’s choice. Madan will be produced in court on Saturday. Irrespective of day of arrest, a person has to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours for further detention Mamata: He will be produced in a CBI court…. CBI court toh dhamadhara (loosely translated as ‘underling or ‘minion’ and, in this context, ‘unable to act independently’) Not to forget: The judges in the CBI courts are appointed by the state government. To cast aspersions on the judiciary can invite contempt even if the chief minister does so Mamata: Has Madan done anything after Saradha was declared a chit fund company? Not to forget: The suggestion appears to be an indirect admission that Madan had associated himself with the company until “it was declared a chit fund company”. Saradha has never been declared a chit fund company — because it was never a chit fund. It was a deposit mobilisation company whose collections grew in tandem with the surge in Trinamul’s political fortunes. Saradha’s political godfathers distanced themselves from the company only after the scandal broke and Sudipta Sen fled Mamata: If I arrest central ministers on one charge or the other, will it be good for democracy? Not to forget: If central ministers — or anyone for that matter — break the law, it is not up to the chief minister to decide whether to arrest them or not. If the crime warrants arrest, the law of the land has provisions to carry out the arrest. Contrary to what Trinamul leaders have been saying, a minister can be arrested without informing the Speaker in advance. The Speaker needs to be informed but after the arrest  Madan Mitra after his arrest. (Mayukh Sengupta) The arrest of the street-savvy politician in the Saradha case also served to retrace the perilous path Trinamul chose since riding to power on the sole but sledge-hammer strength of a leader who was toasted all across the country as the symbol of honesty. Mitra, the state transport and sports minister, was arrested by the CBI after he was questioned for nearly five hours. The swoop clocked another first: no politician had been arrested earlier in the Saradha case on the very first day of interrogation. But unlike the others, Mitra's hospital-hopping had given the CBI enough time to prepare itself. The minister has been slapped with charges linked to cheating, criminal conspiracy, misappropriation and "deriving undue financial benefits from the Saradha Group". Chief minister Mamata Banerjee called the arrest a political conspiracy by the BJP against her government. Mitra will continue to be a minister as Mamata has refused to accept his resignation. She has announced plans for an agitation from tomorrow. Mamata's fusillade from Nabanna, the state secretariat, prompted the BJP to coin the term "Nibor Dooh" - a reverse play on Robin Hood. The Left will hit the streets tomorrow to demand Mamata's interrogation. Mitra has been arrested in connection with a Saradha Realty case. The CBI also arrested Naresh Balodia, Saradha boss Sudipta Sen's legal adviser, on the charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and diversion of funds. "There are reasons to believe that Mitra was involved with Sudipta Sen in plotting a conspiracy that ensured phenomenal growth of Saradha Realty within a period of two years at the expense of investors," said a CBI officer. "He refused to accept the charges initially but later went mum as evidence was produced before him," the officer added. Mitra reached the CBI office around 10.55am. The battery of supporters usually seen around the minister was missing in the morning. By late tonight, when Mitra was shifted from the CGO complex in Salt Lake to the Electronics Complex police station, several foot soldiers had turned up to shout slogans. Mitra is expected to be produced in the CBI court in Alipore tomorrow. Other than Mitra's public appearances with Sudipta Sen, what put the CBI on the minister's trail was the way the Saradha boss went about acquiring land in Bishnupur in South 24-Parganas for the Saradha Gardens project. Investigations revealed that the group's biggest land assets were in Bishnupur. The acquisitions mostly took place soon after Mitra was elected as the MLA of the Bishnupur West Assembly seat in 2009. Instances of such striking "coincidence" have proved to be the biggest millstone around Trinamul's neck. In 2010, Mitra attended a meeting of Saradha investors at the Netaji Indoor Stadium and showered praise on Sudipta Sen. Mitra later said he was then not aware that Saradha was a "chit fund company". Law officer quits It was a bad day in office for Mamata on another count, too. The state's advocate-general, Bimal Chatterjee, resigned, citing poor health. But legal sources said the government's attitude was to blame for the second such resignation since the Mamata government assumed power. |
Ahead: uncharted & unpredictable terrain |
| Our Special Correspondent |
| Calcutta, Dec. 12: If the arrest of Madan Mitra was a chronicle foretold, what lies ahead is the great unknown. So far, the plot has stuck faithfully - but for one change in the sequence - to the prophetic script Mamata had unwittingly authored in the summer of 2013 when she unveiled a rhetorical "list of thieves". Kunal chor? Arrested. Madan chor? Arrested. Tumpai chor? Arrested. Mukul chor? Aami chor? The strike rate so far is exceptional, even though Madan was arrested after Tumpai aka Srinjoy Bose, the Trinamul Rajya Sabha MP. The question that cannot wait to escape almost every lip in Bengal - and many parts of the country - is which symbol will fill the imaginary boxes against the remaining two questions: tick or cross? Veteran CBI officers not connected with the Saradha probe pointed out that every additional arrest meant more paperwork for a team with limited resources. The investigators usually focus on fulfilling the immediate legal requirements - ensuring that a chargesheet is drawn up within 90 days of the arrest and leads thrown up during interrogation are pursued - before turning their attention to more suspects. What Mitra's arrest has done is that it has heralded Mamata and Trinamul into uncharted waters. Mamata conceded as much today. " Ei lorai banchar lorai (This is a battle for survival)," the chief minister said, referring to the fight with the BJP. Never afraid of skirmish on the street and its consequences, Mamata uncharacteristically gave too much emphasis on "arrest". Not once but twice today she dared the Prime Minister to arrest her - and proceeded to predict another round of hospitalisation for the illness-prone Madan, although he was lodged in a police station till late tonight. "I will go to SSKM hospital to meet Madan Mitra. I dare Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to arrest me," Mamata said at Nabanna. <-6.000>where she repeated the Trinamul charge that the arrest was politically motivated. Ever since the Saradha scandal broke and once the Supreme Court handed over the probe to the CBI, it was more or less certain that MPs Kunal Ghosh and Bose would be under the glare of law enforcement. Madan pushed matters to the edge of a farce by hospital-hopping and sent shivers down the Trinamul spine by speaking up from his purported sick bed. Mamata, who had gradually distanced herself from Madan when the scandal broke, was forced to return to his side, prompting suggestions that the advantages of a monitored as well as tongue-tied liability outweigh the unpredictable costs of an uncontrolled and media-friendly dumped ally. At Nabanna, a furious Mamata announced her party's decision to hit the streets from Saturday against the arrest, which she described as "unethical, undemocratic and unconstitutional". Initially, Mamata did not address the media but left the task to the party that launched a fusillade of familiar charges ranging from political motivation to vindictiveness. One omission stood out in the official statement: there was no claim that Madan was innocent. Mamata later vigorously defended Madan but Trinamul somehow did not find the clean chit important enough to include in a 600-word synopsis issued in the evening. "Had he done anything wrong, I would have removed him. But he is innocent. So, I will not accept his resignation letter," the chief minister said. "I will look after the department till he returns." But even the chief minister appeared to leave some wiggle room for the possibility of something unexpected coming up during the probe, saying that the "nice" Madan has a habit of rushing into situations. Madan khela dhula bhalobashe. O ektu horbor kore kintu manush bhalo (Madan loves sports. He rushes into things but he is a nice person)," the chief minister said. Although the possibility of Madan's arrest was in the air for weeks, Mamata said: "A BJP leader had taken some names and claimed that they will be arrested during a meeting in Calcutta a few days ago. How did he get to know? It is a clear political conspiracy and vendetta...." Given Madan's love of sports and his additional portfolio, Trinamul is fielding sportspersons on the streets to protest the arrest of Mitra. Within Trinamul, speculation swirled around how Madan would react in CBI custody. "No one knows what Madan will tell the interrogators. Kunal has made so many allegations against Mamata. Who can stop Madan from doing so?" asked a senior party leader. Trinamul insiders said uncertainty over Madan's response in custody had forced Mamata to stand by him in public. "There is no other way out for Didi but to hit the streets.... Had she accepted Madan-da's resignation or remained silent, it would have sent a signal that she accepted his involvement," said a Trinamul MP. Trinamul sources also pointed to the growing discomfort over painter Suvaprasanna, Mamata's culture clan member under the scanner of both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. Some Trinamul leaders read in Mamata's response to Madan's arrest signs of jitters. "Shyamapada (Mukherjee, textile minister) was questioned by the CBI. For that reason, she did not allow him to attend cabinet meetings. Now a minister has been arrested and yet she is defending him from the seat of power? Obviously, she is jittery," said a Trinamul source. The Trinamul synopsis of Mamata's comments ends with the point: "Agenda of governance will not be affected by politics." The times ahead should indeed be interesting. |
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