BJP-TMC exchange barbs ahead of Winter Session

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley earlier in the day slammed Banerjee and her government in West Bengal over numerous issues ranging from the Saradha chit-fund scam to the Burdwan blast case which have triggered a debate in the  political paradigm of the east Indian state in recent times.

Attacking Banerjee  over the Saradha scam, which had hit the state last year and even led to the arrests of several TMC leaders, Jaitley wrote on his Facebook page: "Trinamool Congress: I was deeply disappointed with Mamta Didi’s reaction to the interrogation and arrest of some of TMC leaders in the Sharada Chit Fund Scam. The TMC’s victory in Bengal was a reaction to the non-governance by the Left."

He said: "Various political forces joined the TMC to get the left out. Some individuals connected with the TMC have been involved in making easy money from the Ponzi schemes. The schemes have looted small investors. As a new political Party, it was incumbent on any responsible leader to purge the Party of such leaders. It is regrettable that Mamta Didi instead of doing that has chosen to identify herself with the cause of these leaders."

On the Oct 2 Burdwan blast case, the Union Minister said: "Similar is her reaction to the Burdwan blast. The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has arrested several people who have engineered the blast. They are enemies of the State. The West Bengal Police or the other intelligence agencies have no substantive material to establish that the blast was stage-managed? If there is no such material, why has Didi chosen to allege that the blast was stage managed? Such allegations clearly help the actual culprits. This is neither responsible nor Nationalistic."

The TMC hit out at Jaitley's remarks on both the issues and called the National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval as a known ‘RSS sympathiser’.

Without taking any name, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’ Brien said in a statement: "The honourable Mr Jaitley has also written about the Burdwan blast and linked it to nationalism. Let me make three specific charges here:i. This is all part of a devious BJP master game plan. ii. The current PM used this narrative throughout his election campaign in Bengal. This wasn't a mere coincidence. It was a plan. iii. The NSA is a known RSS sympathizer. These devious plans are all conceived, drafted and approved at RSS HQ."

A high drama awaits during the Winter Session of the Parliament with the TMC all set to stage a dharna opposing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Insurance in the House.

The TMC legislators will also raise the black money case during the session, the party said.

The TMC has already skipped the meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, which was seen as an attempt to reach out to the oppositions.

The party will also boycott a meeting called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiaih Naidu on Sunday.

"All party meet has been called on short notice on Sunday. It shows poor planning. The TMC is not attending the all-party meet. We have many issues to raise in the winter session and the biggest one is black money," TMC leader Derek O'Brian told mediapersons.

The Winter Session of the Parliament will start from Monday.

The house will have 22 sittings in which 67 bills are slated to be taken up.

Nine bills were introduced in the previous session and 40 have been carried over from 15th Lok Sabha under UPA II. The Lok Sabha has 18 pending bills.