Saradha scam: Trinamool members protest against alleged misuse of CBI

New Delhi, Dec 17: Wearing black bands on their mouth, Trinamool Congress MPs on Wednesday staged a silent protest before Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament House against the government's alleged "misuse" of CBI against its members, including Ministers.

The Trinamool members, who have been raising the issue in both Houses of Parliament during the last few days, appeared unrelenting even today as they continued with their protest.

Some TMC MPs including Kunal Ghosh are facing a CBI probe in the

being investigated by the CBI. Charging that the government was misusing CBI, Trinamool members had walked out twice from the Lok Sabha yesterday.

Meanwhile, West Bengal minister Madan Mitra, arrested in connection with the multi-crore rupee Saradha chit fund scam, accused the CBI of pressuring him to take the name of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the scam even as a city court denied him bail and extended his custody till December 19.

Earlier on Tuesday, alleging that West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress was hindering the CBI probe into the multi-crore rupee Saradha scam, the Congress filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking its intervention.

Dubbing the Trinamool's rallies protesting against arrest of Transport Minister Madan Mitra as tantamount to contempt of court, Congress leader Abdul Mannan, who filed the petition, said it has been submitted to ensure the probe is carried out unhindered.

"The Trinamool has been trying to disrupt and hinder the CBI probe by various means. The way the CBI counsel was not allowed to speak during Mitra's appearance in the court (Dec 13) was a contempt of court So we have filed a contempt petition," he said.

"We have submitted video recordings of the ruckus outside the court as well as media reports of how the Trinamool has been trying to derail the CBI probe. The petition was filed today before the Supreme Court and the hearing is likely to begin later in the month," said Mannan who played a key role in filing a petition in which the apex court eventually directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the scam.

PTI