Uncomfortable questions within TMC

Arnab Ganguly and Our Bureau, TT, March 15: Some Trinamul MPs have wondered aloud at a gathering why the party was not coming clean on the Narada sting since it had made political capital out of honesty, sources said.

The murmurs came on a day chief minister Mamata Banerjee certified Trinamul the most honest party in the country but refrained from challenging the content of the Narada News footage.

Trinamul appeared to be concentrating its firepower on the source of funds for the portal, indirectly suggesting that the operation did take place and the affair in its entirety need not be doctored.

Conspicuous by its absence was a phrase the chief minister is partial to: " sajano ghatana(fabricated incident)".

"Let them (the Opposition) conspire against us as much as they want. Let them try and blackmail us by falsely alleging that we have black money. Let them get money from abroad (to malign us). Whatever conspiracy you want to do, go ahead. We are not scared," Mamata told a rally in Kurseong today.

"We work with honesty, with respect. There is no other political party in India that works with as much honesty as we do. This is why a lot of nonsensical things are said about us. We are keeping a watch on this.... The public will bowl them (the Opposition) out. We are ready to reply to this," she added.

Mamata did not mention the sting operation. Neither did she defend the 14 party associates linked to the scandal. A Trinamul spokesperson later said no explanation would be sought from the six MPs linked to the tape - all of which suggests that the party is not keen to go into specifics but is hoping to brazen its way out.

But the Opposition is planning to beam the sting on giant screens. Although Trinamul is said to be weighing legal options, how the images can be blocked in the era of smartphones is a challenge to which few have an answer.

In New Delhi, Trinamul sources said at least three MPs - Dinesh Trivedi, Sugata Bose and Moon Moon Sen -spoke out during an internal meeting of members from both Houses this afternoon.

None of the three MPs could be contacted for corroboration but accounts of multiple sources matched. Trinamul spokesperson Derek O'Brien said "no formal or informal meeting" took place and described the accounts as "complete hearsay".

But a Trinamul source said over the phone: "Dineshda said the party had made political capital out of honesty. Why was no inquiry demanded, if we are in the right? He said that money and muscle power should not be encouraged."

"Both Bose and Trivedi said the party's stand, whenever faced with the charge of corruption in public life, appeared distinctly different from what it preached," said a source.

Mamata had demanded the resignation of then defence minister George Fernandes after the Tehelka scandal in 2001 and used the issue to walk out of the NDA.

Other sources, too, said some MPs raised questions over the "dismissive" reaction of the party to the sting. "We, too, should have demanded a probe. Our outright attempt to protect the party leaders was not correct," one MP said.

"Whatever has happened is very disgraceful. But since the party has asked us not to speak outside, I will not say anything on record," the MP added.

Earlier in the day in the Lok Sabha, parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu had urged the Speaker to order a probe. "Simply saying political conspiracy will not help. Right or wrong, this has to be dispelled. Request the Chair to take appropriate action. There can be a government probe or a probe by the House," Naidu said.

The Speaker is yet to announce a decision. Sources said inter-party consultations were expected before any decision was reached.

The matter has reached the Election Commission, too, which today issued a series of guidelines for the conduct of the Assembly polls in Bengal.

"The point (the Narada issue) was made by representatives of political parties. The matter will be examined. We can't say anything immediately as we haven't seen anything as yet. But the matter will be examined," said election commissioner Achal Kumar Joti in Calcutta.

Chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi, who was seated next to Joti, said: "This will be immediately passed on to appropriate authorities."

Trinamul's internal "discussion" was convened after Opposition MPs from Bengal raised the Narada sting in the Lok Sabha during zero hour, when any issue can be mentioned, and demanded a probe.

O'Brien, who is also the Trinamul leader of the Rajya Sabha, reached Delhi from Calcutta and attended the Trinamul "discussion".

"Mamatadi had told him to inform all MPs that they should not speak to the media on the sting operation. They did not speak to the media but the questions some of them raised internally was no less an embarrassment as our MPs echoed what the Opposition is saying," said a Trinamul leader.

According to a Trinamul leader, Trivedi and Bose asked why the party would have to defend the "misdeeds" of a few. Officially, the party has been "dismissive" about the video, calling it an Opposition conspiracy.

"There had been murmurs of discontent on some issues or some MPs may have spoken out of turn. But never before have they spoken out so strongly in any party forum," said a Trinamul MP.

Trinamul sources said that the party MPs were facing ridicule from fellow parliamentarians outside the House.

Sources said Trivedi and Bose asked Saugata Roy and Sultan Ahmad, two of the six MPs sucked into the sting, to explain their position before the party MPs. "Both said they would speak at the appropriate time," said a source.

While the discussion was on, Sen asked why Trinamul was issuing contradictory statements, the sources said.

"On the one hand, we are saying the footage could be doctored and then we are talking about foreign funds. Why this contradiction?" a source quoted her as saying.

Trinamul leader Partha Chatterjee had yesterday raised questions about the source of funds for the sting. Mamata today spoke of the use of "foreign funds" to malign the party.

According to a source, Trinamul has planned to stage a dharna tomorrow in Parliament but the cause is not clear.

O'Brien said: "There was no formal or informal meeting of the Trinamul Parliamentary party. Some of us MPs got together to discuss the proposed dharna for Wednesday. Everything else is complete hearsay," said O'Brien.

O'Brien has moved a notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking suspension of business tomorrow to discuss foreign funds being used to influence the Bengal Assembly polls. The reference appears to be to the Dubai-based financiers of Narada News.

O'Brien said Trinamul wanted a thorough probe to find out the source of funding and motive of the news portal.

The CPM has also submitted a notice in the Rajya Sabha demanding suspension of business to discuss the sting operation. O'Brien's notice is being seen as an effort to block the CPM's plea.

O'Brien said no explanation would be sought from the MPs seen on the tape. "We are in the middle of elections and we don't wish to be distracted by this smear campaign. There is no question of seeking an explanation from the MPs," he said.

However, like Mamata, O'Brien did not directly question the veracity of the contents of the Narada tape. "We live in an age where technology is often abused," he said, repeating his statement yesterday.