Ponzi scam: Tripura CM Manik Sarkar lashes out at Mamata Banerjee

Bengaluru: Lashing out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her remarks against him in connection with multi- crore Ponzi scams, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Tuesday asserted that all allegations against him were politically motivated.

Speaking to reporters here, a visibly upset, Mr Sarkar retorted "Do not try to equate me with Ms Banerjee. The allegations are completely false."

He was reacting to comments by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, who had charged his government with having colluded with Rose Valley Group chairman Gautam Kundu, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for reportedly mobilising around Rs 17,000 crore through various illegal money collection schemes. Ms Banerjee and her party men had alleged that Tripura was the epicentre of the chit fund scam but the CBI only arrested two TMC MPs - Tapas Pal and Sudip Banopadhyay - from West Bengal.

The TMC asked Prime Minister Modi: "Why were TMC MPs being hounded by the CBI while the Sarkar government remained untouched despite the latter literally acting as brand ambassadors for Rose Valley? Isn't this vindictive attitude (of Mr Modi) and vendetta politics (practised by him)?"

However, Mr Sarkar snapped that "She (Ms Banerjee) is saying this to save her skin in the Saradha (another chit fund scam), Narada (a sting operation that accused TMC leaders of accepting bribe) and Rose Valley issues."

Rebutting allegations that his government had reached a tacit agreement with the BJP, which is trying to make inroads into Tripura, Mr Sarkar contended that the BJP is a national party and therefore will try to enter the state.

"Look at the way the BJP captured power in Arunachal Pradesh, that was wrong. The BJP has money power, muscle power and media power. But we are confident that the people of Tripura will realise what the BJP is doing. They (BJP) cannot mislead people for years together, the best alternative to the BJP and the Congress is the Left and democratic forces," he said.

Demonetisation a political gimmick: Sarkar  

Terming demonetisation as a "political gimmick", Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Tuesday warned that "a volcano of people's ire" was building up against the BJP-led NDA government's reluctance to address "real issues". Participating in an interactive session organised by Bengaluru Press Club here, Mr Sarkar said that people had understood the grand design of diverting attention from real issues and dividing them on religion and caste lines and would react at an appropriate manner. "I admit that it will take some time, but I am confident that it would happen. "They cannot mislead people forever," he said.