Kolkata: The CBI is waiting for the Lok Sabha speaker’s nod to prosecute four more political leaders in the Narada sting case. Among them is BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari. He was a Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP when the tapes surfaced. CBI senior officials said that all mentioned in the charge sheet will be prosecuted. The probe agency Tuesday scotched allegations of biasness levelled against it by several quarters. However, it remains to be seen whether Suvendu Adhikari will face the music. He emerged a giant-killer during the West Bengal Assembly polls. Despite the saffron part suffering a debacle, Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee from the Nandigram constituency.
The probe agency had Monday arrested two state ministers – Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, MLA Madan Mitra and former TMC leader Sovan Chatterjee. They were arrested in connection with its probe into the sting operation, which purportedly caught politicians accepting bribes on camera.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had recently granted sanction to prosecute the four leaders. After that the CBI finalised its charge sheet and moved to arrest them.
The CBI has ‘sought permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker to prosecute Suvendu Adhikari, Saugata Roy, Prasun Banerjee and Kakali Ghosh Dastidar’. They all were TMC MPs when the operation was allegedly conducted, the official explained. “We are yet to get a sanction in the matter,” he said. However, the official clarified that Mukul Roy, who quit the TMC and joined the BJP in 2017, does not feature in the list.
Also read: Mathew Samuel surprised at CBI’s decision not to arrest Suvendu Adhikari
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, following Monday’s arrest, had claimed that Adhikari and Roy were spared by the CBI. This is because they have joined the BJP.
“It’s clear that Suvendu and Mukul were kept out of this. As they now happen to be BJP members. We, however, have faith in the judiciary and the truth will come out soon,” Ghosh had asserted.
Another TMC MLA, Tapas Roy echoed what Ghosh said. He said the BJP government at the Centre was trying to ‘exact revenge’. This is because the BJP lost the just-concluded Assembly elections.
‘Narada News’ portal editor Mathew Samuel conducted the sting operation in 2014. He had also sought to know why no action was taken against Adhikari.
“I believe the investigation should be fair. This is the tip of the iceberg. We have to move against corruption. We have to face and challenge it,” Samuel said.
Left Front chairman in West Bengal, Biman Bose among others raised similar questions.