TMC leader tries to enter Solicitor General’s house to ‘find gaps’ in his statement

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh tried to enter Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta’s residence in New Delhi on Tuesday without a prior appointment to “find gaps” in the latter’s statement last week denying meeting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari at the law officer’s house. On July 1, TMC alleged Mehta and Adhikari met even as both rubbished the charges. In his statement issued after the alleged meeting, Mehta said Adhikari came to his residence-cum-office unannounced, but he did not meet the BJP leader.

Ghosh said the security guards at Mehta’s house did not allow him to enter saying he did not have an appointment to do so. “This is the norm. So how could Adhikari enter the residence with his armed guards when he is an accused in a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) case? This means he had a prior appointment. This proves that he was trying to influence the case,” said Ghosh.

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Adhikari is accused in the 2016 Narada sting tapes case that the CBI has been investigating. The case pertains to series of videos purportedly showing a number of high-profile leaders receiving money in exchange for favours to a fictitious company.

Mehta is representing the CBI in the case in the Calcutta high court and the Supreme Court. The prime accused in the multi-crore Saradha Ponzi scam has accused Adhikari of accepting money even though the BJP leader has refuted such allegations.

The TMC has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking Mehta’s removal for alleged “misconduct and impropriety” over his alleged meeting with Adhikari. On Monday, a two-member delegation of TMC parliamentarians met President Ram Nath Kovind and submitted a memorandum for the removal.

Mehta denied the charges in a statement last week. “...Adhikari did come to my residence cum office yesterday at around 3 pm, unannounced. Since I was already in a pre-scheduled meeting in my chamber, my staff requested him to sit in the waiting room of my office building and offered him a cup of tea. When my meeting was over and my staff informed me about his arrival, I requested my staff to convey to Mr Adhikari my inability to meet him and apologise as he had to wait,” Mehta said in the statement.

TMC lawmaker Abhishek Banerjee asked Mehta to make public the CCTV footage of his residence to substantiate his claims.

BJP leader Jay Prakash Majumdar accused the TMC of trying to divert attention from major issues. “The SG (Solicitor General) knows his job and his jurisdictions,” he said.