Opposition asks Mamata to sack Narada-tainted ministers

Opposition parties in West Bengal on Tuesday demanded that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee immediately expel the TMC leaders and ministers purportedly seen taking money in Narada sting operation, with the BJP asking her to quit upon failing to do so.

On a day when the Supreme Court declined to interfere with the Calcutta High Court order on the sting operation case and asked the CBI to continue with the preliminary inquiry, the CPI-M hinted at collusion between the BJP and the TMC, questioning why the Rajya Sabha ethics committee dealing with the issue had not held a single sitting in ten months.

"If the government has any morality, it is the Chief Minister's responsibility to sack her ministers who are involved in the incident," Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) State Secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra told a media conference.

Mishra said the parliamentary ethics committee that has been "completely silent" on the issue for the last 10 months should also learn a lesson from Tuesday's verdict at the apex court.

"For the last 10 months the Parliamentary ethics committee hasn't shown the courage to discuss the Narada sting operation case. I hope the committee would take a lesson from the Supreme Court's verdict in the case," he claimed.

Terming the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry in ponzi schemes as "lagging", the veteran left leader said the onus is on the agency to prove it's efficiency in conducting the probe.

Congress State General Secretary Om Prakash Mishra described the the apex court's decision as one in favour of the country's "democratic and constitutional system", and urged the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to immediately expel the MPs and MLAs who are shown taking money in the sting operation.

"Today the Supreme Court has rubbished the state government's petition. This order is in favour of India's democratic and constitutional system," the Congress leader said.

State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Dilip Ghosh threw a virtual challenge to the Chief Minister.

"We urge her to remove all corrupt people from her party. But we know she does not have the guts to do so, as she herself is involved in corruption. The Chief Minister should either expel all wrongdoers from her party or resign from her position," Ghosh told the media here.

All India Forward Bloc State General Secretary Naren Chatterjee demanded to know why it petitioned the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the Calcutta High Court order at the cost of public exchequer.

He said going to a higher court by the accused was acceptable, but the state government paying "huge fees to lawyers" from the public exchequer to save the "corrupt TMC leaders" was "unacceptable".

"Can you tell me why the state government filed a petition before the Supreme Court in the Narada case?" Chatterjee told reporters here.

"The government is paying fees to lawyers," he said. "Have the accused persons involved in corruption after consulting the state government?"

The controversy erupted in March last year when Narada News portal uploaded a series of videos purportedly showing a number of high-profile Trinamool leaders, including former and present ministers, MPs and state lawmakers, receiving money in exchange of favours to a fictitious company.

The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered a CBI preliminary inquiry into the sting footage case and ordered the national agency to complete the process within 72 hours.

--IANS

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