Mamata trashes sting, raps Opposition

Trashing the sting operation Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said it won't take her "a second" in getting back at her opponents in a like manner.

On a day when the Calcutta High Court heard litigations concerning the sting operation, Banerjee, in an interview, questioned the motive of the sting by a man who was "arrested for violating the Official Secrets Act".

Lambasting the opposition BJP, Congress and the CPI-M for harping on the sting operation during their election campaign, she attacked a section of the media for giving detailed coverage to the footage.

Warning her political opponents, she said: "I can also do a similar thing by giving money to someone, but why would I do that?"

Taking the names of several prominent opposition leaders, Banerjee warned: "They are talking big... how long will it take me, papers are there...

"Don't make me open my mouth. It takes a second to do...," she said.

Banerjee termed the videos as "fake".

"If the videos are really authentic, then why is the media running a disclaimer about not having verified its authenticity? "When the media itself does not trust the videos, then why is it serving such fake news to the people?" asked Banerjee. She ridiculed the BJP and the Congress which have filed petitions seeking a CBI probe into the sting operation.