Barbs were on Saturday traded between Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee over the Saradha scam in West Bengal which defrauded lakhs, with the Congress vice-president accusing her government of inaction and the chief minister targeting P Chidamabaram.
"It will throw some light on the investigation," he said.
A 'White Paper' versus 'Black Paper' battle erupted on Thursday as the Centre and the Congress unveiled documents and crossed swords over the handling of the Indian economy during the nearly 10 years of the BJP-led NDA rule and the previous 10-year tenure of the Congress-led UPA government.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday conducted searches at 56 places, including the premises of Biju Janata Dal MLA Pravata Tripathy and owner of a local newspaper in Odisha, in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.
A team of CBI officers reached his residence in south Kolkata's Chetla area along with a large contingent of central forces in the morning, officials said.
Reaction to surge in applications, seemingly to hide identity as chit funds.
Revamped at a cost of Rs 10 crore, Ouni village in Uttarakhand is being touted as a 'modern village' now. Nearly 40 solar street lights, two new transformers, and as many washrooms have been set up in the village, which didn't have street lights till a few months ago, reports Sarthak Choudhury.
Launching a blistering attack against the Centre, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed state Transport Minister Madan Mitra's arrest as "political vendetta" and "dirty conspiracy" by the BJP and dared the NDA government to arrest her.
The Director told his team of officers to expedite the probe as it involved the trust of common people as well as the Supreme Court in CBI.
Soon after coming out of the ED office in Kolkata, Banerjee said the interrogation was an effort to prevent him from participating in the INDIA meet and a testimony to the vital role TMC is playing in forging the opposition unity.
Hasty, ill-conceived steps show how isolated Mamata Banerjee had been from the national political trend. A fascinating excerpt from Sugato Hazra's Losing The Plot: Political Isolation Of West Bengal.
Adhikari, leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, denied the charge, saying that he had recently gone to Mehta's residence in Delhi regarding a case related to "post-poll violence" in the state but "could not meet him in person".
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday issued summons to Trinamool Congress secretary general and senior West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in connection with the I-core ponzi scam, sources in the agency said.
The Supreme Court collegium has for the second time reiterated the names of two advocates -- Amitesh Banerjee and Sakya Sen -- for appointment as judges of the Calcutta high court "expeditiously", saying it was not open for the government to repeatedly send back the same proposal.
Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, had also denied the meeting, saying that he had recently gone to Mehta's residence in Delhi regarding a case related to "post-poll violence" in the state but "could not meet him in person".
Former Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh also appeared before the probe agency in Meghalaya.
The ED had registered an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) in the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Banerjee slammed the opposition for a "malicious campaign" launched against her, asserting that she does not support corruption.
The bench said this is not an appropriate case for custodial interrogation of the petitioner.
Kumar, who is currently the West Bengal CID additional director general, was part of a special investigation team set up by the West Bengal government to investigate the scam before the Supreme Court handed over the case to the CBI in 2014, along with other chit fund cases.
Sources said the reshuffle will also aim at an image makeover for the party hit by school jobs scam probe.
The agency has also called former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh to Shillong on February 10.
The Saradha Group had been raising deposits from the public with a promise to double the money invested within a short period.
The CBI action came a day after the agency filed its second charge sheet in the case alleging that former director general (state armed police) and Trinamool Vice President Rajat Majumdar and East Bengal Club official Debabrata Sarkar were beneficiaries of the money collected through chit fund scam.
'I have tutored my family and myself to fight hunger,' the former agent for the disgraced Saradha chit fund says, his eyes welling up. 96 of the 107 cases referred to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office are based in Bengal!
The Enforcement Directorate probing the multi-crore Saradha scam money trail today interrogated Rajya Sabha Trinamool Congress MP Ahmed Hassan Imran for the second time.
The agency said the recall of the order granting Kumar an interim protection from the arrest was necessary.
Kumar is being interrogated at the highly secured CBI office at Oakland area in the Meghalaya capital where three senior CBI sleuths from Delhi reached on Friday.
The West Bengal Assembly had in a special session last week passed the West Bengal Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishment Bill, 2013, to protect investors in chit fund companies.
A look into the lives of a few Saradha agents who are left in the lurch by Bengal's chit fund scam.
The cop, who is alleged to have suppressed crucial evidences required for preparing the final CBI chargesheet in the scam, has been evading the probe agency's summons to appear before it and his whereabouts are not known.
All airports and immigration authorities have been alerted by the CBI this week to prevent him from leaving the country and intimate the agency on any possible move, they said.
Trinamool Congress members on Tuesday alleged in Lok Sabha that the Central Bureau of Investigation was being misused in the Saradha scam and staged a walkout, even as government said it was willing to discuss issues related to the fraud.
Since the Saradha group of companies went bust with its owner Sudipta Sen in police custody from 2013, its agents have been left penniless, homeless and have lost all hope of living a peaceful life. They are out on the streets, crying themselves hoarse for compensation. One of them writes an open letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for help.
A court in Kolkata has rejected the interim bail plea of Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Srinjoy Bose, arrested by CBI in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam case, and remanded him to four days police custody
SBI Capital, Axis Capital, GMR Holdings, United Breweries, Alpic Finance (a Cipla group unit), Saradha Realty, United Bank of India and Trident India are among the prominent entities named in the list.
As Rose Valley resurfaces, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Pal's arrests marks the end of the bonhomie between the TMC and BJP.
The Rajya Sabha MP, who is also a spokesperson of West Bengal's ruling party, was asked to appear before a CBI team in the first week of August, officials said on Friday.
Earlier during the day, the agency carried out searches at two premises of Mishra in Kolkata in connection with the case but could not find him there
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh on Sunday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party had no link with the chit fund company Saradha Group, which has closed shop failing to repay hundreds of depositors' money.
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