TMC MPS walk out of RS over chit fund arrests

THE TRINAMOOL Congress on Thursday virtually found itself alone as it attacked the government over the arrest of party MPS Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Paul by the CBI in connection with a chit fund scam.

The party accused the Modi government of indulging in “political vendetta and witch hunt” before walking out of Rajya Sabha. The rest of the Opposition parties, however, did not join the protesting TMC MPS.

Soon after the House met on Thursday, Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O’brien raised the issue, linking the arrest of his Lok Sabha MPS to the party’s opposition to demonetisation.

Recalling the joint protest by 15-odd Opposition parties against demonetisation during the Winter Session of Parliament, Derek said the Trinamool Congress had expressed in November the apprehension that the central government was indulging in political vendetta for the stand taken by the party.

He said that as early as on November 24, it was mentioned in Parliament that “because we are opposing demonetisation, it cannot be made an excuse to send your agencies after us and scare us”.

“And exactly what we had feared has happened. Don’t do political vendetta because we are opposing you. The Lok Sabha leader of Trinamool Congress was called and arrested on January 3. Within one month of speaking this has happened. Today it has happened to the Trinamool Congress, tomorrow it can happen to any member of any other opposition party. It is a very serious issue,” he said.

“Why is this political vendetta happening? What are we coming to?” he added.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi rejected the TMC’S allegation. While the TMC members were walking out of the House, Naqvi said it is the court which had decided on the issue of scam and not the government.