Calcutta Corner

Back Scratchers

West Bengal is in a state of turmoil. Key members of its very government and the ruling party stand accused in a huge case of fraud. For those who came in late: an estimated 17 lakh people were duped out of their small savings by fraudulent companies known as chit funds (‘chit’ refers to the informal slips of paper given to investors as receipts for money collected by agents of these companies) which have mushroomed throughout the state and the names of some of West Bengal’s top leaders are associated with these companies. Though the chit fund scandal broke last year after Sudipta Sen, the owner of one such chit fund company, Saradha, was arrested, the extent to which top Trinamool leaders were involved is only now coming out in the open. 

Suspicions were raised when these chit fund companies started booming around the time that the Trinamool Congress was gaining popularity in the state (from between 2006 and 2009)— which coincided with the decline of the Left Front. There was a sudden explosion in print and electronic media groups funded by these companies and they were all promoting the Trinamool Congress. But the pro-TMC agenda of these chit fund companies was not so obvious at that time because this new leadership in the state— considered to be an alternative to the 34-year-old Left— was getting good press in most media houses anyway.  But after Trinamool came to power, these chit fund media companies went completely pro-establishment (that is, continued support to the Trinamool which was now in power). This would be okay had the government shown that it was at least trying to keep its electoral promises. But it was doing nothing of the sort. On the contrary, it was getting mired in one controversy after another— from the chief minister dismissing a woman’s complaint that she was raped as a ‘concocted story’ to openly supporting goons who boasted about murdering opposition members. Still these media houses continued the good press. 

After Sen was arrested, his interrogation threw up many names in the Trinamool and it was found that the Trinamool leaders had a quid pro quo arrangement with him. His media companies would promote the party and he would be allowed to thrive in the state (which in effect meant: he would continue to dupe the common people of their money with promises of high returns, divert the funds into business ventures, earn huge profits, roll this profit in further investments and diversified businesses, share this profit with politicians in exchange for favours, float media groups which would keep these politicians in power…and never return the money to the small investors.) 

They Did It Too

The Trinamool Congress is angry. It claims that the chit funds originated during the time when the Left Front was in power but only they (Trinamool) are getting the blame. Now, there are flaws inherent in this argument. Yes, there is no denying that the shady ponzi schemes originated during the uninterrupted, corruption-eaten rule of the Left regime. Though ‘chit funds’ per se are not illegal and those who operate under legitimate licenses from the country’s regulatory financial bodies like Reserve Bank of India are allowed to seek investments (provided they keep their commitment of returning the money with interest to the investors within a stipulated time frame). However, most of the chit fund companies did not comply with the rules and started duping people by collecting their money with promises with high return— mostly from illiterate people in the villages, districts and small towns— and then running away with the proceeds. These shady companies operated even in the 1970s.

But the argument ‘They did it too’ is faulty—surely, two wrongs do not make a right; just because someone else has stolen doesn’t mean you can steal too. If the Trinamool logic is that ‘They got away with it— how come we are getting caught?’ then that too is a flawed logic. Because if the law has not been able to nab one culprit (to be sure there are many outlaws on the loose), doesn’t meant it can’t catch others. Moreover, the Left Front did not so blatantly use chit fund run-media to promote itself, which is perhaps why, the quid pro quo, if it existed at all, was not so obvious.

From Then To Now

When the chit fund scandal broke, the state government seemed to want justice done and the Bengal chief minister immediately issued a statement to the duped masses that she would set up a fund to replenish what they lost. While doing this, she made two controversial statements in her inimitable style—one, she told the people who lost their lives savings: ‘jaa gechhey taa jaak’ (what’s gone is gone) and, two, promising that she would recover the lost money by taxing smokers, she urged smokers, “aaapnaaraa aar ektu beshi beshi korey cigarette khan jaatey takaa taa taari taari uthey aashey” (smoke more so that the money can be recovered fasters). She also set up an probe (Special Investigative Team) comprising Bengal police and intelligence officers. Earlier this year, however, the Supreme Court was not happy with the SIT’s progress (the one arrest of note that the SIT made was that of Kunal Ghosh, chit fund company Saradha’s media head, who had been made Rajya Sabha MP by chief minister and was deemed to be extremely close to her at one point…getting him arrested was widely believed to be a ploy to both keep him from talking and to show that the state government would not spare anyone.) So earlier this year, the apex court handed over investigations to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI). It is only since then that the startling facts are emerging with the magnitude of the ruling party’s involvement coming to light.

Beyond Borders

The CBI probe reveals that links that the chit fund companies shared with politicians of the ruling party were not limited to the quid pro quo of “You give me good press and make sure we keep winning elections and in return we will let your shady businesses thrive in the state”. It went beyond that. In fact, it allegedly went beyond the borders of the country. Of the many startling (and shocking) revelations and allegations levelled against the ruling party is that a Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP, a former leader of the banned Jamaat- e- Islami used to ferry cash to Jamaat’s counterparts in Bangladesh in ambulances (so as to avoid being intercepted). The money in their hands was supposed to ensure that they would provide a steady supply of minority votes during elections from across the border. 

The Party Doth Protest Too Much

The Trinamool has alleged that the the CBI is working under instructions from the centre and has protested against the investigative body. Members of the party’s women’s wing stationed itself in the CBI complex in Calcutta’s Salt Lake where investigations and interrogations are being conducted demanding an end to it. But the move has earned the party further criticism from the opposition which observes that the protest is, in effect, questioning the Supreme Court’s directive because the CBI is actually only working under its instructions.

Tail Piece

Heard on the streets of Calcutta: “Sharadha’r protik” (mocking the Trinamool description of its leader as “shototar protik” (the paragon of virtue)