“I have not committed any immoral activity either as a party representative or as an individual,” said Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Mukul Roy, who has been summoned by the CBI in connection with the Saradha scam on Sunday.
Mr Roy was speaking at a workers' meeting in Bongaon at North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, ahead of the by-election in the Bangaon Lok Sabha constituency.
Mr. Roy’s public appearance, where he is addressing a party gathering, is significant as it proves that the party is extending its support to the leader.
A few days ago, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee had said at a closed door meeting, “If something happens to Mukul, thousands of Mukul will hit the streets in protest.”
Speaking at the rally, Mr. Roy claimed that while the vote share of other parties had reduced in the State, only the TMC had managed to increase its vote share by 100 per cent.
“This by-election is a challenge. There have been two by-elections in the State after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections — Chowringhee and Basirhat constituencies.
While we were trailing by 1,500 votes in Chowringhee in the Lok Sabha polls, we won by 15,000 votes in the by-election.
In the by-election polls in Chowringhee, we beat the BJP by over 30,000 votes… And yet, no party has alleged any illegal practices like rigging or booth capturing during the by-elections,” Mr. Roy said.
He stated that the West Bengal government was moving forward in terms of GDP, investments and added that the recent National Crime Records Bureau figures suggested that Bengal fared better than other States as far as crime is concerned.
Rubbishing media reports that there were sporadic incidents of violence in the State, Mr. Roy said such violence accounted for a minor figure.