Probe sought into Trinamool-Jamaat link

Amidst reports of the Trinamool Congress’s alleged funding of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Bangladesh-based extremist group, Members of Parliament from both the ruling Awami League and the Workers Party have demanded a probe into the allegations.

The allegations gained ground as the Kolkota-based Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika reported on Friday that crores of money from the Saradha chit fund scam were used to instigate violence in Bangladesh. The newspaper said the money made its way to the Jamaat in 2012-13 through Ahmed Hassan Imran, a Rajya Sabha member from Trinamool Congress.

Fazle Hossain Badsha, MP from northern Rajshahi, bordering West Bengal, who is also general secretary of the Workers Party, an ally of the Awami League, said his party had expressed serious concern when the Jamaat last year procured “gun powder” and funds from across the border ahead of the January 5 elections. “We raised concerns because without consent from the ruling party there, the Jamaat would not have got such help to carry out violent anarchy,” he said. Mostafa Lutfullah, Awami League MP from Satkhira, said “We have enough evidence to prove that Jamaat militants, when chased or injured during clashes with police, crossed the border into West Bengal.” Satkhira, on the border with West Bengal, was the centre of widespread Jamaat-sponsored violence during last year’s anti-election agitation. “We have also information that the leaders of the Trinamool Congress gave them shelter,” he said. He alleged that Jamaat leaders and workers worked for the Trinamool during the recent Lok Sabha elections.

News reports in Bangladesh have alleged that the Jamaat, with close contacts with the TMC leadership, has built a “base” in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal. Dhaka has already communicated its concerns on the issue to New Delhi, newspapers said.

The Jamaat, in a statement, however, brushed aside the allegations, terming it baseless and politically motivated.

Authoritative sources told

The Hindu that the NDA government has already clarified its position on confusion caused by last week’s private visit to Dhaka of journalist and BJP leader M.J. Akbar. Mr. Akbar, met leaders of the BNP, a staunch ally of the Jamaat, during his visit. Mr. Akbar’s visit was his “own” and “nothing to do” with BJP’s stand on Bangladesh, the BJP has said.