IANS
New Delhi/Kolkata, Nov 23
[dropcap]U[/dropcap]nion Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Sunday attacked at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her reactions to arrest of her Trinamool Congress’s leaders in the Saradha chit fund scam and on her statements in the Burdwan blast case. The Trinamool hit back, seeking to know the source of BJP’s massive funds spent during the elections.
West Bengal’s ruling party also dubbed National Security Advisor Ajit Doval a “known RSS sympathizer” and reiterated the Oct 2 Burdwan blast was a “devious BJP master game plan”.
In an article posted on Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) website, Jaitley wrote: “I was deeply disappointed with Mamata Didi’s reaction to the interrogation and arrest of some of TMC leaders in the Sharada hit fund scam.“Some individuals connected with the TMC have been involved in making easy money from the Ponzi schemes it was incumbent on any responsible leader to purge the party of such leaders. It is regrettable that Mamata Didi instead of doing that has chosen to identify herself with the cause of these leaders,” he said.
The senior BJP leader also raised questions about Banerjee’s intentions for terming the Burdwan blasts as stage-managed.
“The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has arrested several people who have engineered the blast. They are enemies of the state.
“The West Bengal police or other intelligence agencies have no substantive material to establish that the blast was stage-managed. If there is no such material, why has Didi (Banerjee) chosen to allege that the blast was stage managed,” he asked.
“Such allegations clearly help the actual culprits. This is neither responsible nor nationalistic,” he said.
The Trinamool hit back seeking to know the source of BJP’s massive funds spent during the elections.
“Let me ask the BJP leadership a few straight questions. Where did the BJP raise their billions of dollars to spend in the Lok Sabha elections? How much money was spent on Maharashtra and Haryana elections? Where is the party getting its massive funding to continue the lavish spending in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand? Why don’t they provide transparent accounts for this unprecedented splurge?
“If the nation gets to know how much black money the BJP has spent this year on elections, the party will get black-listed,” said Trinamool Rajya Sabha chief whip Derek O’Brien in a statement posted on the party’sTrinamool’s official website.
He made three charge against the BJP-led central government: “This is all part of a devious BJP master game plan; The current PM used this narrative throughout his election campaign in Bengal. This wasn’t a mere coincidence. It was a plan; The NSA is a known RSS sympathizer. These devious plans are all conceived, drafted and approved at RSS Head Quarters.”
Meanwhile, the finance minister further praised the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the successful foreign visits, especially the G20 summit that have contributed in enhancing India’s image.
Citing the example of US President Barack Obama’s acceptance of be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations, Jaitley said: “What better recognition should there be of India’s enhanced stature than President Obama agreeing to be the chief guest of India at our Republic Day parade.”
