Journalist-turned-MP Kunal Ghosh from Trinamul Congress on Monday continued his tirade against his party and its leaders. On Monday, he attacked several state ministers. Without mentioning the name of a party leader, Mr Ghosh said that the person who had been repeatedly demanding his resignation was doing so in order to cover his own sins.
“Sudipta Sen (Saradha Group boss) had told me that the same person had taken `4 crore from him,” he added. Although, Mr Ghosh did not identify this TMC leader, his outburst has triggered speculation about an MP and a minister. This was a serious charge and it made it clear that Mr Ghosh was going to keep his promise that he would divulge ugly truths and expose some important leaders in the party.
He later also targeted state agriculture minister Maloy Ghatak.
Indicating that he was being hounded and his proposed media venture was being sabotaged, he said: “After I made the political statement some ministers particularly Maloy Ghatak has threatened over the phone the investors of the small media house (I am trying to build). I can understand their hostile behaviour toward me by why are they are trying to make the future of over a 100 boys and girls who are working in the media house dark?”
Training his guns on power minister Manish Gupta, Mr Ghosh suggested that he should be held accountable for the police firing on Youth Congress workers in the city on July 21, 1993 during the March to Writers’ agitation.
“Manish Gupta who is a minister at Writers’ Buildings today was the home secretary when the July 21 police firing took place,” he added.
Mr Ghosh was speaking to the media persons after deposing before the judicial commission probing the two decade old police firing in which 13 Youth Congress workers were killed. Mamata Banerjee who was the president of the Youth Congress had given the call for march to Writers’.
To elaborate his point, Mr Ghosh claimed that there was no evidence which suggested that Ms Banerjee had asked her party workers to attack the state secretariat. He further said that the police officers on duty near the venue of the agitation had also not sent such a feedback. “I am unwilling to accept that Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee—the political leaders were responsible for the firing but the home secretary Mr Gupta had no role to play. After all the police would not have resorted to firing without consulting the home secretary,” he added.
Denying Mr Ghosh’s charge that he had threatened the financier of a media house, Mr Ghatak threatened to take legal action against the journalist-turned-MP. Mr Gupta said that whatever he had to say on the subject of July 21 firing he had said during his deposition to the commission. He again denied any role in the firing. Branding Mr Ghosh
and Tapas Pal and Satabdi Roy ( without naming them ) as traitors, transport minister Madan Mitra said that some Mir Jafars had been identified. He also warned that Mr Ghosh’s continued attacks were making the party workers extremely angry.