Reports say BJP MLA stayed at Tushar Mehta's house for 30 minutes: Abhishek

KOLKATA: Even as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta claimed that he didn't meet Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari at his residence on Thursday, Trinamool Congress all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that as per reports, the BJP MLA entered the law officer's residence in the presence of a cavalcade of officers and stayed there for nearly 30 minutes.

"Reports state that Mr Adhikari entered Hon'ble SG's residence in the presence of a cavalcade of officers and stayed there for nearly 30 minutes. Does that imply that a meeting was indeed due? As the episode gets murkier, one can only hope that the truth shall surface," tweeted Abhishek.

Mehta made a press statement on Friday that Adhikari did come to his house but he did not meet him. "He (Adhikari) waited for some time and left," Mehta said.

Countering Mehta's claims, Abhishek tweeted: "Mr Mehta's efforts to dismiss speculations regarding his clandestine meeting with @SuvenduWB can only be valuable if he makes all CCTV footage public until Mr Adhikari was in his residence. Moreover, was Mr Adhikari present in the SG's residence without prior appointment?"

Earlier, TMC MPs — Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Derek O'Brien and Mohua Moitra — had written a letter to the Prime Minister demanding Mehta's removal for his alleged meeting with Adhikari. They alleged that the meeting 'reeks of impropriety' as Adhikari was involved in both Narada and Saradha cases.

In the Narada sting operation case, Adhikari was seen taking money and the matter is lying pending before the Calcutta High Court. In the multi-crore Saradha scam, the main accused Sudipta Sen had written letters alleging that Adhikari had taken money from him.

Mehta has appeared for the CBI in both the cases in Calcutta High Court. The MPs alleged that as Adhikari was involved in both the cases, Mehta's meeting with him was in direct conflict of interest with the statutory duties of the SG.

The MPs alleged that Adhikari's meeting with Mehta took place following a meeting of the former with Amit Shah, the Union Home minister.

Kunal Ghosh, state secretary of TMC, questioned when the SG had pleaded in the Narada sting operation that three ministers of TMC should be kept behind bars as they might influence the court, the same logic had applied to Adhikari who should be arrested immediately as he had tried to use his office to influence the court.

Addressing a press conference at Trinamool Bhavan, Roy said: "It was really astonishing how Adhikari along with his security guards went to the official residence of Mehta at 10, Akbar Road without prior appointment."