BJP misusing power, CBI action illegal: Mamata on Mitra arrest

Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Following the arrest of West Bengal minister Madan Mitra in connection with the Saradha chit fund scandal, an angry Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday lashed out at the BJP for "misusing power", and charged the CBI with "acting as per a sequence" of arrests given by a BJP leader during a recent rally here.

"A few days ago, a BJP leader held a rally in Kolkata. He gave the sequence of arrests. The CBI is acting as per that sequence," Banerjee, also the Trinamool chairperson, told media persons a little after Mitra was taken into custody by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

"He was called as a witness. Within a few hours, he was arrested. Isn’t this political vendetta?

"After coming to power, we never arrested anyone based on political vendetta," Banerjee said.

The chief minister termed the CBI move "illegal and unconstitutional".

"The BJP is misusing power. What the CBI has done is wrong. It is illegal, unconstitutional," she said.

Banerjee said the central agency has set a "bad precedent" by arresting a minister without informing the government or the assembly speaker.

While he has repeatedly denied allegations of his involvement in the scam, Mitra participated in many Saradha programmes and heaped praises on group chairman Sudipto Sen for creating job opportunities for thousands of people and assured help if the group faced any difficulties.

"Sudipto Sen knows how to make an ocean out of droplets. Work well, we are with you," Mitra was captured on tape saying at one such programme.

However, Banerjee claimed that politicians and ministers attend several programmes and events. "Do we always enquire which company is sponsoring it?" she asked.