Trinamool moves EC against Narada CEO
Samuel says operation was conducted without any political intention
A complaint lodged by West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress against Mathew Samuel, CEO of Narada News, which carried out a sting on party leaders, has been sent to the Election Commission in New Delhi for further action, a poll panel official said on Friday.
"The complaint has been forwarded to the CEC. They will look into it," an official said here. The Trinamool had urged the EC to prevent Samuel from holding press conferences since the Narada sting matter was subjudice and the Lok Sabha ethics committee was looking into it. Samuel on Friday claimed the sting operation conducted by his organisation against some Trinamool Congress leaders had not been done with any political intention. Addressing a media conference in Press Club, Kolkata he said that he had no interest in the Bengal Assembly elections and whatever he has done was out of his journalistic pursuit.
In reply to a question, he said that the Trinamool Congress leaders took money during the sting operation as bribe and it was not a donation as claimed by a section of party leaders. He also demanded that the Trinamool Congress leaders who had accepted the bribe should be punished. Narada News had conducted a sting operation against ten Trinamool Congress leaders including few state ministers and MPs who were seen accepting bribe from a fictitious company set by the media house. After the videos were released, Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused that the sting operation was conducted to malign the party on the eve of the state Assembly election. Later, the Trinamool Congress announced that the party would conduct a probe in this regard.
Samuel said his company was registered in India and has an office in Dubai. The Trinamool Congress leadership alleged that the Narada News got foreign money to conduct the sting operation.