File Photo of Former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee and his close aide Baisakhi Banerjee when the duo defected from the TMC to the BJP

Kolkata: A day after the former Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor Sovan Chatterjee took part in the BJP’s roadshow after almost three years of inactivity, the ruling Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh cried foul by stating that Sovan is a ‘scam-tainted politician' and should be immediately arrested.

“Sovan was seen in the Narada sting operation and was also part of the I-core chit fund scam. He should be arrested immediately. All the scam-tainted leaders are now the face of the BJP. Interrogate Sovan in front of me and everything will be clear,” mentioned Ghosh.

Countering Kunal’s claim, Sovan said that Kunal was the "key man of Sarada ponzi scam in West Bengal" and also leaders like Kunal Ghosh and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are leading to the doom of the Trinamool Congress party.

Notably, former TMC Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh was arrested on November 23, 2013, in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam. Within two hours of his arrest, Kunal, in a Facebook post, had named 12 people who, he said, could help the police unravel the scam. In that list of 12, there were names of at least four Trinamool Congress MPs as well as party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Calling Baisakhi Banerjee, the close aide of Sovan, a "dignified lady", Kunal asked how she managed to stay with a ‘scam-tainted politician' like Sovan.

Countering Kunal’s claim, Baisakhi mentioned that Kunal should first stand in front of a mirror and review his own self and other leaders of the TMC.

“Defected leaders like Mukul Roy, Sovan Chatterjee and Suvendu Adhikari are being termed as scam-tainted just because they have defected to the BJP. There are other leaders whose names were taken during the investigation of various scams. They are still in the ruling party, Kunal should first review them before alleging further,” alleged Baishakhi.

It is pertinent to mention that Sovan Chatterjee had resigned from his posts in 2018 and defected to the BJP in 2019 along with his close aide.

Even after defection, the Sovan-Baisakhi duo wasn’t seen in active politics. Even the roadshow of the BJP on January 4 was called off as the duo didn’t attend the meet.

However, after breaking three years of political hibernation, both Sovan and Baisakhi took part in BJP’s roadshow on January 11.

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