Agartala, June 28 (PTI): A day before the CBI is supposed to interrogate Tripura social welfare minister Bijita Nath in connection with the Rose Valley scam, Opposition parties here demanded the resignation of chief minister Manik Sarkar.
Nath received the CBI notice on Saturday which said a CBI official would interrogate her at her residence tomorrow.
Trinamul Congress (TMC) leader and former leader of the Opposition Sudip Roy Burman demanded that Sarkar resign owning moral responsibility for the scam in the state.
"The Left Front government, despite opposition by different political parties in the state, had allowed the chit fund groups for their narrow political interests for a long time and now when a minister of his cabinet has received a CBI notice, Sarkar cannot evade responsibility and should immediately resign," MLA Burman said.
The BJP also demanded Sarkar's resignation alleging that the non-banking financial companies and the chit fund groups mushroomed in the state for more than a decade because of the "support" of Left leaders.
"Lakhs of people lost their deposits because of cheating by the chit fund groups and non-action by the government headed by Sarkar. So, he must resign taking moral responsibility," BJP vice-president Subal Bhowmick said.
The Congress yesterday demanded Nath's resignation. Tripura Congress spokesman and MLA Gopal Roy said more than 14 lakh depositors in the state had been cheated by 142 different chit fund groups in the state over the last two decades.
He demanded that the state government make arrangements so that people get back their money deposited in these companies. "The Left Front government brought out a bill named Tripura Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, 2000, but formulated the rules only in 2007. During these seven years (2000-2007), the chit fund companies looted the people of Tripura in various ways. Why did the government delay the process of formulating rules for seven years?" he asked.
In 2008, Sarkar had inaugurated the Rose Valley amusement park at Amtali here, Roy said.
