Kolkata: CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) didn’t meet West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Bandhopadhyay in person but had sent a letter stating that Speaker’s permission is not needed while probing cases under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED officials had visited the Assembly premises but didn’t meet the Speaker but had submitted a letter which mentioned that the central agencies are abiding the law and probing the scams of West Bengal.
Mentioning the same the CBI had mailed the Speaker but didn’t visit the Assembly.
West Bengal Speaker Biman Bandhopadhyay said that the chapter isn’t closed.
“No one is above law and if needed I will write to them again. The chapter is not closed,” said Biman.
West Bengal BJP vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar said that instead of wasting time the Speaker should help the agencies in the probe.
“The Speaker is wasting time, instead he should help in the probe. He should disqualify the MLA posts of the defected BJP MLAs and should cancel the PAC chairman post of the defected leader Mukul Roy,” said Majumdar.
Advocate and senior CPI (M) leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said that Speaker Biman Bandhopadhyay is making fun of his post.
“There is no such rule that the Speaker has to give permission before the agency to start the probe. The agencies are abiding by the law. But writing such letters the Speaker is making fun of his chair,” said Bikash.
Notably, the Speaker on September 13 had written a letter to senior CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers to meet him on September 22 at the Assembly to explain why no permission had been taken from the speaker’s office before submitting charge sheets against ministers and MLAs.
It can be recalled that over Narada bribery scam TMC leaders and ministers Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MLA Madan Mitra and former Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) mayor Sovan Chattopadhyay were even arrested by the CBI over the Saradha chit fund scam.
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