Narada matter: BJP rebuffs political conspiracy & allegation, demand CBI probe

Image courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Rubbishing the allegations of political conspiracy, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday sought CBI probe in the Narada sting operation matter and said that it must be welcomed. Speaking to a news agency, BJP leader Nalin Kohli said registering of an FIR by the CBI in the matter is a logical conclusion. "The sting clearly showed the high and the mighty of the Trinamool Congress including the Lok Sabha, other forums, and important leaders collecting cash. This clearly comes under the Prevention of Corruption Act," he said. Kohli also asserted that corruption in all forms needs to be eliminated. The CBI on Monday registered an FIR against 13 persons in connection with the Narada sting operation case. The FIR has been filed against Madan Mitra, Mukul Roy, Saugata Roy besides Sultan Ahmed, Iqbal Ahmed, Kakoli Ghosh, Prasun Banerjee, Shbhendhu Adhikari, Sovan Chatterjee, Subrata Mukherjee, Syed Hussain Meerza, Firhad Hakim and Apurva Poddar . This came a month after the Supreme Court extended the time given to the CBI for conducting preliminary inquiry in the case. The three judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Jagdish Singh Khehar said that the CBI investigation would go on against the accused persons in this case. Former Delhi Minister; Kapil Sibal, who one of the lawyers for accused persons, requested the SC for SIT or any other independent investigation; but it was rejected by the apex court. The CBI had on March 20 registered a preliminary inquiry into the case.  As per sources, the CBI also seized laptop and spy cam used by the Narada News in their sting operation. The investigative agency also named West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, MPs, police officers and ex-MLA in its preliminary inquiry. Reacting to the court’s order, Mamata said that she will appeal against the court order in a "higher judiciary". Earlier in April 2016, the court had formed a three-member committee to probe the controversial tapes. Narada News, led by its editor-in-chief Matthew Samuel, had earlier released three sets of videos of its sting operation, where top TMC leaders were allegedly seen accepting bribes from journalists posing as businessmen.