CBI's Saradha scam probe not to affect us electorally: Trinamool Congress

KOLKATA: Seemingly cornered over the Saradha scam, West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress Thursday asserted the CBI probe into the multi-crore scam will not affect its fortunes in the 2015 municipal and the 2016 assembly polls.

Talking to media persons on the occasion of party's 17th foundation day, Trinamool general secretary Mukul Roy claimed the popular mandate will continue to be with his party, much like the Lok Sabha polls in which it had hauled up 34 seats.

"Be it 2015 or 2016, people of Bengal will definitely continue to be with (party supremo and chief minister) Mamata Banerjee like they have been till now," replied Roy to media posers if the Central Bureau of Investigation probe in the Saradha scam would adversely affect Trinamool's electoral fortunes.

Besides a host of Trinamool leaders including party MPs being grilled by central agencies probing the scam, its Rajya Sabha members Kunal Ghosh, Srinjoy Bose, party's state vice president Rajat Majumdar and state Transport Minister Madan Mitra are behind bars for their alleged complicity in the scam.

The Trinamool has been accusing the BJP government at the centre of using the CBI as a political tool and calling the scam probe a "political vendetta".

"On this issue, already there has been a vote and the mandate is known to all, so this will have no effect," added Roy.