Mamata 'abandons' ministers with Saradha links

Rajat Majumdar, former IPS and now a senior TMC leader, used to serve Sudipta Sen-led Saradha Group as a 'security advisor'

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is distancing herself from the controversial names that have surfaced in the Saradha chit fund scam probe.

While former state police chief and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Rajat Majumder is unlikely to continue as an independent director on the board of two state-run power companies, state ministers Madan Mitra and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee seem to have been abandoned by the party, though they continue to hold ministerial berths.

Majumder, recently arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI, is on the board of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited and West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited. “His term as a director of both the companies will end next month. He was expected to get an extension, but the government has decided not to extend his term,” said a senior government official. Majumdar used to work as a security adviser for the tainted Saradha Group.

The two ministers, whose name cropped up during the investigation, have not been attending Cabinet meetings for the last two weeks. Sources say they have been asked not to attend the meetings. However, Mitra claimed he was “busy with some personal work”, while Mukherjee said he was not keeping well.

Besides, the ministers have been asked to avoid public appearances and media interactions. They have hardly been seen in the state secretariat in the last couple of weeks. So much so that, sources say, files relating to their departments are being forwarded to department secretaries bypassing the ministers.

However, they continue to hold the ministerial posts, as the party fears that if they are sacked it would amount to accepting the wrongdoing.

“Seeking their resignation could also mean acknowledgment of the party leaders’ involvement in the scam,” said a senior TMC leader.

Incidentally, these are the same party men, whom the chief minister had defended when questions were raised by media soon after the Saradha Group went bust. “Is Kunal a thief? Is Madan a thief? Is Tumpai (Srinjoy Bose) a thief? Is Mukul a thief? Am I a thief? Are all of us thieves? And the rest are saints,” an angry Banerjee had said then.

Former TMC MP Kunal Ghosh is already behind the bars in connection to the scam. Madan Mitra's associates have been quizzed, TMC MP Srinjoy Bose too was recently summoned by the CBI and now names of top leaders like Mukul Roy and Mamata Banerjee too are being propped up by the opposition for their alleged links with Saradha-promoter Sudipta Sen.