BJP calls for Mamata's grilling in Saradha scam

The BJP Saturday called for the interrogation of Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the Saradha scam, a day after party general secretary Mukul Roy was grilled by the CBI.

Referring to Banerjee's alleged meeting with Saradha chief and scam kingpin Sudipta Sen at Delo in Darjeeling district in March 2012, Bharatiya Janata Party national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said the chief minister should be questioned about it.

"(Mukul) Roy has publicly admitted that there was a meeting between Sen, Banerjee and himself in Delo. If the CBI has interrogated Roy, they should also call Banerjee for questioning," Siddharth Nath Singh, also the party in-charge for the state, told media persons at Krishnanagar in Nadia district.

"The CBI can't have two different yardsticks for two people. They should also call Banerjee under the same rule," he said.

Former railway minister Roy, considered Banerjee's right hand man, was grilled by the Central Bureau of Investigation Friday for over four hours.

Four Trinamool leaders, including state transport minister Madan Mitra, are behind bars for their alleged complicity in the scam.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Saturday said it will politically fight the Narendra Modi government over a host of issues including the CBI "targeting" leaders of Bengal's ruling party.

"We will grill the Modi government in the budget session of parliament on its failure to fulfill pre-poll promises which included bringing back black money and on the draconian land ordinance," Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien said.

Led by party chief Banerjee, the Trinamool Saturday held a core committee meeting at her residence.

Talking to media persons, Trinamool secretary general Partha Chatterjee accused the BJP of using the CBI to arrest Trinamool leaders.

Chatterjee said a delegation led by O'Brien will meet Vice President Hamid Ansari "regarding the manner in which BJP is targeting Trinamool Rajya Sabha members".