Suvendu Adhikari came unannounced, did not meet him: SG Tushar Mehta on impropriety charges

It was only after Mehta’s meeting was over that his PPS informed him about Adhikari’s arrival, he said. “When my meeting was over and thereafter my PPS informed me about his arrival, I requested my PPS to convey Mr. Adhikari my inability to meet him and apologise as he had to wait. Mr. Adhikari thanked my PPS and left without insisting to meet me. The question of my meeting with Mr. Adhikari, therefore, does not arise.”

The clarification from SG Mehta came hours after TMC wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his removal over the alleged meeting.

The letter, written by TMC MPs Derek O’Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, and Mahua Moitra, stated that the meeting between Adhikari and the Solicitor General “reeks of impropriety” as the Nandigram MLA is an accused in the Narada and Saradha cases where probes are underway.

The Solicitor General is representing the CBI in the Narada case in the Supreme Court and the high court, alongside advising the national probe agency in the Saradha scam, they said.

The meeting between Adhikari and the Solicitor General “not only reeks of impropriety, there is a direct conflict of interest and also taints the position of the second highest law officer of the country, the Solicitor General”, the letter said.

The TMC MPs urged the Prime Minister to take necessary steps for the removal of Mehta from the post in order to maintain the “neutrality and integrity” of the office of the Solicitor General of India.