CPI(M) answerable for chit fund scams: Mamata

On a day the CPI(M) demanded questioning of those named by arrested Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh in the Saradha scam, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said it was the Left Front which was answerable as it was during its rule when chit fund companies thrived.
"They have committed sins for 35 years. Today they are clamouring for an answer. Who will reply? It is you who have to reply. It was during the Left regime, which has looted the people, that chit funds mushroomed in the state. What were they doing?" Banerjee asked at a rally at Kushmundi in South Dinajpur district.

Banerjee referred to the steps taken by her government to tackle the situation after the Saradha Group went bust in April, including return of money to defrauded depositors.
She said after the Sanchaita chit fund scam in '80s when lakhs of people were ruined not a single paise was returned to depositors. Referring to the Saradha scam, the Chief Minister said, "We have made arrests and have returned money to 2.5 lakh poor depositors. This makes us proud."
Banerjee also referred to the formation of a Special Investigation Team and a high-level inquiry into chit fund companies after the collapse of the Saradha group.

The state government had set up a Rs 500 crore relief fund for affected small and medium investors of Saradha group. Their names were recommended by a commission of inquiry.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra, belonging to the CPI(M), demanded that all those named by the suspended MP Ghosh in the ponzi scheme, including the Chief Minister, be questioned.