Narada sting operation: Back in power, Mamata orders probe

On Friday, after a meeting with Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee and Home Secretary Moloy Dey at Nabanna, the state secretariat, Mamata ordered the probe while reiterating that the “so-called sting operation” was a conspiracy hatched just before the assembly elections to malign her party’s image and create suspicion among the voters.

“I still believe that there was a conspiracy. We want the truth to come out. The police will conduct an inquiry into the total episode. They will investigate and act according to law,” the chief minister said.

She reiterated that her party wanted the truth to come out in the sting by Narada News, which purportedly showed several Trinamool Congress ministers accepting cash from a fictitious company. “We are transparent and those behind it should be exposed. The police will conduct an impartial probe and the guilty will be punished,” Mamata said, adding the police will find out those behind the “conspiracy”.

“We have also informed the speaker of the Assembly and obtained his permission,” the CM said. Asked if the sting tapes were fake, she said, “Why should I comment on that? The inquiry will reveal it. It needs to be understood what the context of the conversation in the tapes was,” she said.

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The government had earlier formed an inquiry committee to probe the sting operation but the members had left the issue to her, Mamata said.

Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee said once the team has conducted its preliminary inquiry, action will be taken according to law. The Opposition parties termed the CM’s decision ordering an inquiry as a “gimmick to fool the masses and cover up the important evidence”.

“Everybody knows what happened when the SIT was formed to probe the Saradha scam. Important documents where siphoned off and no major arrests were made. It was a CBI investigation that led to the arrest of several important leaders of TMC,” Leader of Opposition and senior Congress member Abdul Mannan told PTI.

“This investigation into the Narada scam is also ordered for the same purpose of covering up the incident,” Mannan said and wondered why the CM didn’t order an inquiry earlier.

Senior CPI(M) leader Sujon Chakroborty termed the order as an eyewash to fool the people and destroy the evidence.
BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha also echoed the view of Congress and CPI(M) and said if Banerjee really wanted a proper inquiry, then she should have recommended a CBI probe.

TMC leader and state minister Firhad Hakim, whose name has cropped up into the incident, welcomed the probe and said he wanted the truth to come out.