As protests break out, Trinamool shifts blame on Left

ENS, Kolkata, Sun Apr 21 2013: AS hundreds of agents of Saradha Group stormed the Trinamool Congress headquarters on Saturday after being heckled by investors, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked her administration not to "spare anybody" responsible for the crisis arising out of the closure of the chit fund company.

The Saradha Group has shut more than 300 branches, leading to angry protests by investors across the state. However, the ruling Trinamool Congress has shrugged off responsibility, shifting the blame on the previous Left government and the central government for allowing chit fund firms to operate.

After meeting the agitated agents at the party office, Trinamool general secretary Mukul Roy said, "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is serious on the issue and she has said that nobody would be spared. Law will take its own course. However, the government has verified the facts related to the chit fund companies. The documents revealed that all these companies got official registration and approval to run the business during the tenure of the Left Front government."

"The companies got licence to operate from former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee with active connivance of UPA I. The Trinamool government does not have any responsibility for this crisis," he said. "Non-banking finance companies started mushrooming during the Left regime. We do not have any link with the chit fund companies. The actual thieves are now trying to shift the blame on us to save their skin."

Roy denied any connection with the Saradha Group and its CMD Sudipta Sen, who is wanted by the police now. The police have already seized papers of Sen's immovable property. On Saturday, they arrested a group director, Manoj Kumar Nagel.

"We have arrested Manoj Kumar who is one of the directors Saradha Realty Pvt Ltd and Saradha Printing and Publishing Ltd. We have issued a lookout notice at all the ports to ensure that Sen cannot leave the country. We have seized documents of his property and have frozen his bank accounts. We are interrogating other employees of the company too," said a senior police official of Bidhannagar police commissionerate with which at least eight complaints have been lodged against the group.

Meanwhile, Sen is learnt to have written to the CBI, purportedly taking names of politicians to whom he gave money. CPM has demanded the letter be made public.

Interestingly, the Chief Minister had inaugurated one of the newspapers owned by the group. Moreover, Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh used to hold an important position in the company. However, Mukul Roy, refuting the allegations, said, "Kunal Ghosh was an employee of the company. He never had any stake in the company. I have asked him to hold a press conference and come clean. Also, the Chief Minister inaugurated the newspaper owned by the company as she was invited. She never inaugurated the chit fund company."

Roy said the government is working to bring a new law to regulate chit fund firms.

Meanwhile, protests have broken out in several districts. Agents and investors torched and looted the offices of the group in Salt Lake in Kolkata, Balurghat in North Dinajpur, Kanthi in east Midnapore, Ghatal in West Midnapore, Murshidabad and Burdwan among other districts.