Mukul Roy is the sixth Trinamool MP to be grilled by the agencies investigating the scam
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's right hand man Mukul Roy is today appearing before the CBI for questioning in the Saradha case, making him the sixth Trinamool MP to be grilled by agencies investigating the chit fund scam.
The big question doing the rounds is: will Roy be arrested like two other MPs? And an even bigger question: what lies ahead for the Trinamool? Is a beleaguered Mamata Banerjee mulling snap Assembly elections much ahead of the scheduled 2016?
"I will go to CBI as scheduled. I will cooperate with their probe. As I have said before, personally or as a party representative I have never done anything wrong," said Mukul Roy, perhaps somewhat defensively, before his questioning by the CBI, something he managed to delay for two weeks. During that time he frantically shuttled between Kolkata and Delhi. Many are wondering why.
"Mukul Roy, we have heard, was desperate and knocking at all doors," said BJP's Tathagata Roy. "But I am confident there has been no response from BJP." Asked what Mukul Roy could offer the BJP, Mr Roy said, "I have no idea. He might offer what he has or what he hasn't."
Congress MP Pradeep Bhattacharya was more candid. "We heard rumours that Roy wanted to talk with Amit Shah, Arun Jaitley and others. What was the result I don't know. Some indication could come from the behaviour pattern of the CBI with Roy."
What is clear is the arrest of two MPs and a minister in the Saradha scam and now the party's general secretary being summoned for questioning by the CBI has put the Trinamool under pressure as never before. Mamata Banerjee has called a core committee meeting at her house on Saturday and her opponents say one of the items on the agenda could be snap polls.
"Mamata may see an early election as a way of damage control. She sees her stock plummeting principally of the Saradha scam and the arrest of her leaders," said Mr Roy.
Sujan Chakraborty of the CPM, however, wants Ms Banerjee to complete her term. "There is no reference of her completing her full term anywhere. I want her to complete the term. She shall have to answer the people after completing her own term. Why will we allow her to fly away in between?"
One of the strongest reasons for Mamata Banerjee to call early polls is to catch the BJP under-prepared. Organisationally, the BJP has a long way to go in Bengal. The Trinamool knows that. Giving it time till 2016 may benefit the BJP. A lot could hinge on what happens at CBI today.