Seeking Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the “unexplained surge in assets” of Contai MP and veteran politician Sisir Adhikari, the secretary of the Trinamul Congress’s Bengal unit Kunal Ghosh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah urging both leaders to initiate investigations under the existing CBI case for the Saradha ponzi scam in which Ghosh himself was earlier arrested.
Ghosh also forwarded copies of the letter to the directors of CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED), asking the latter agency to begin a fresh probe on its part.
Octogenarian Adhikari, a TMC MP on pen and paper, has been keeping distance from the party ever since his son, Suvendu switched camps to the BJP in 2019 and began leading the opposition in the state Assembly after defeating chief minister Mamata Banerjee in the Nandigram assembly seat, a result which continues to remain disputed in the legal corridors.
Quoting National Election Watch information released by the Association For Democratic Reforms (ADR), Ghosh publicly questioned on November 4 the “abnormal spike” in Adhikari family patriarch’s assets from Rs 10.83 lakhs in 2009 to Rs 10.32 crores in 2012 and a subsequent dip to Rs 3.4 crores in 2019.
Ghosh’s allegations against the Adhikari family were levelled a day after Suvendu had posted his I-T returns documents for 2022-23 in response to chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s oblique remarks about the leader’s “questionable” gains and challenged the TMC supremo to “publicly release the copy of the Title Deed of the land, situated at Harish Chatterjee Street; Kalighat, Kolkata, where you (Banerjee) have been residing by occupying the land.”
Ghosh, while following up on his earlier post on the senior Adhikari, referred to discredited Saradha Group promoter Sudipto Sen’s complaint letter to the CBI and judiciary, and posted on his X handle on Wednesday: “As Saradha owner alleged that during 2011/12 he had been blackmailed by Adhikaris of Contai and paid huge amount; And as, in the same period the assets of MP Sisir Adhikari had a huge growth of rs 10 crores; Therefore, I have written to PM, HM, Director CBI and ED, demanding probe this matter under Saradha Scam cases.”
Mentioning the same to the BJP top leaders and the directors of central agencies, Ghosh wrote: “If the asset figures are incorrect, then they should be revised. But if the figures are fact, then a probe is needed,” Ghosh wrote on Wednesday. “Whether there are links between abnormal growth of assets and the Saradha scam, must be investigated,” he added in his letter to PM Modi.
“The Adhikaris may bad mouth me and launch personal attacks against me as much as they want. But they haven’t given any replies so far to the questions I have raised. Let them do that first before attacking Abhishek Banerjee and our party,” Ghosh told reporters.
BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya’s response was snide. “The Trinamul held Sisir Adhikari’s hand in spreading its organization roots in Contai and the rest of East Midnapore. I find it baffling why the party is taking on its own MP. He is still a TMC MP, is he nor?” Bhattacharya said.
