Launching a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, BJP President Amit Shah accused her of not acting against wrongdoers in the multi-crore Saradha Ponzi scam, saying many of them were her associates and "stooges", drawing a sharp retort from the Trinamool Congress. Addressing a rally in Kolkata, BJP president Amit Shah asked Banerjee to rein in her workers and associates who were allegedly involved in corruption and scam and said, "If you can't do that then please step down. "BJP will provide good governance in Bengal. The countdown has already started and the people of Bengal will show you the way out in the 2016 Assembly polls." Reacting to this, Trinamool Secretary General Partha Chatterjee said, "The cat is now out of the bag. It is now clear that the BJP is playing politics with CBI probe in Saradha scam." Criticising Banerjee, the BJP president said, "You (Mamata) are not protesting against duping of 17 lakh investors in the Saradha scam and coming down on the streets, because your own associates and stooges are involved. We need an answer as to who took away the Saradha scam money. "We are not afraid of anyone because our workers are not involved in any scam. Whether it's Saradha or anything else, we will do the work of arresting and putting the culprits behind bars," he said.

Trinamool Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Banydopadhyay sniffed a BJP hand behind the CBI probe in the Saradha scam and said Trinamool was keeping a close watch on every move of the agency to ascertain if the ruling party at the Centre had any influence in it. "There should not be any politics on CBI. It should be allowed to work impartially without any political pressure. The Prime Minister should ensure that the CBI is not a pawn in the hands of the party in power at the Centre," he said. Accusing Shah of trying to foment communal passions in the state, Chatterjee said, "I know what you told your party workers in a closed door meeting. Don't play with fire. It's Bengal, not Gujarat." Acceptance of BJP has been questioned after its dismal performance in the by-elections in different states, he said adding, "BJP is now keen on capturing power in non-BJP ruled states by hook or crook, but their dream will never be successful." With barely two years left for the Assembly elections, the BJP chief left no one in doubt that he has already started a campaign to oust the Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal.

In a debate moderated by TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, panelists -- GVL Narasimha Rao, National Spokesperson and Member Electoral Reforms, BJP; Jayanto Ghoshal, Editor, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Delhi; Ritabrata Banerjee, MP Rajya Sabha, CPI (M) and Prof Saugata Roy, MP Lok Sabha, TMC -- discuss Amit Shah's Chitgate strike at TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee.

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