Probe sought into Trinamool-Jamaat
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http://m.thehindu.com/news/internationa ... nnel%3DnewAmidst 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.
