The Trinamool Congress continued its campaign against Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, with a delegation of its MPs calling on President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday, demanding the removal of the law officer from his post.
In the memorandum submitted to the President, Trinamool Congress MPs – Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Mahua Moitra – demanded an investigation into the purported visit of Suvendu Adhikari, Bharatiya Janata Party’s MLA in West Bengal, to the residence of the Solicitor General in New Delhi on July 1. They alleged that since Adhikari was being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate for his involvement in the Narada sting operation case and Saradha Chit Fund scam, his meeting with the Solicitor General reeked of “grave impropriety” and raised “troubling doubts about his professional integrity”.
Mehta, however, clarified that though Adhikari had visited his residence, he had not met the BJP leader, who had arrived unannounced and left after having a cup of tea. Trinamool Congress MPs had earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking removal of Mehta from the office of the Solicitor General.
Adhikari is a protege-turned-foe of the TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He quit the TMC and joined the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in the State and defeated Banerjee in Nandigram. He is now the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly but remains accused in the Narada case as well as the Saradha Chit Fund scam being probed by the CBI and the ED. Mehta is representing the investigating agencies in the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court in connection with the cases.
Moitra told journalists after meeting Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan that Mehta should release CCTV footage of his house to make his clarification convincing.
(Published 05 July 2021, 07:38 IST)
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