Are Trinamul Congress leaders avoiding their party leader and president of Birbhum district unit Anubrata Mondal, who is undergoing treatment at Woodburn Block of SSKM Hospital since 6 April. Apart from the minister Mr Chandranath Sinha, who hails from Birbhum too, no senior party leader or ministers visited Anubrata so far. Mamata had made the 60-year-old controversial leader one of the members of the national working committee of the party a few months ago.
On 6 April, Anubrata, who was supposed to face the CBI interrogations at the agency office in connection with his alleged involvement in the multi-crore rupees cattle scam, had rushed directly to the Woodburn Block and got admitted there showing symptoms of respiratory trouble, palpitations and sleep apnea. With admission to the hospital, he skipped the CBI interrogations for the fifth time.
“We have seen how senior TMC leaders and workers used to visit the ministers involved in scams admitted to the Woodburn Block regularly. But this time, surprisingly no senior ministers as well as leaders came calling,” sources said.
“Is this leadership’s strategy to avoid Anubrata as much as possible because he has landed his party and also the government in deep trouble repeatedly skipping the CBI interrogations?” sources raised questions. Interestingly, Trinamul Congress spokesperson Mr Kunal Ghosh has fuelled the questions today when he said, “Many influential persons are being treated at SSKM Hospital. Woodburn Block is now a refuge of prisoners.”
His statement, apparently indicating Anubrata, has sparked controversy in political circles. Earlier too, Kunal had made controversial statements while reacting to Anubrata’s repeated attempts to avoid CBI, probing the cattle smuggling case. He had told the media, “I never skipped CBI inquiry.” Kunal is an accused in the Saradha chit-fund scam.