This Article is From Apr 22, 2014

Saradha scam emerges as major issue in West Bengal polls

Saradha scam emerges as major issue in West Bengal polls
Kolkata: The multi-crore Saradha ponzi scam has emerged as a major poll plank in the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal with major political parties like the Congress, BJP and CPI(M) training their guns against the ruling Trinamool Congress.

With the CPI(M) demanding a CBI probe into the scam that defrauded lakhs of small investors, the party's politburo member and former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee accused the Mamata Banerjee-run government of becoming a "symbol" of the Saradha Group which defrauded lakhs in the state. (Full Coverage: India Votes 2014)

"It is a scam of thousands of crores of rupees. Where has the money gone and to whom? Everything will come out. It (TMC) talks about being truthful, but it is a government of lies," he alleged. (India Votes: Candidates | Schedule)

"Going by what I see every day in the media, this government can be seen as a symbol of Saradha and not of honesty ... the day is not far when it will fall," he said.

The BJP also had no kind words. The state BJP unit president Rahul Sinha blamed the Trinamool Congress for the mushrooming of money laundering companies and joined the chorus with Congress and CPI(M) for a CBI probe.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been vociferously maintaining that the money laundering schemes began during the Left Front regime which saw the proliferation of such companies raising money from people by promising unrealistic returns.

The issue has gathered more momentum of late with both Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee trading charges against each other with the former pitching for a CBI probe into the matter much to the dislike of the chief minister.

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