Burdwan blast accused linked to Trinamool: Amit Shah

Unfazed by the controversy over his earlier remarks, Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Friday linked the Burdwan blast accused to Trinamool Congress and challenged the party chief Mamata Banerjee to say they are innocent.

"The accused in the Saradha scam and Burdwan blast are linked to TMC. The owner of the house where Burdwan blast took place is linked to TMC. The Sharada chit fund scam accused are also linked to TMC and many people including MPs have been arrested.

"If Mamataji feels it is CBI's mischief, she should say that those arrested are innocent... If CBI is doing a political probe, let Mamataji just say in public that those arrested people are innocent," Shah said speaking at 'Agenda Aaj Tak'.

The BJP chief said he is a public leader and has made an allegation against the West Bengal Chief Minister's party and it was upto her to come out and clarify on them.

"I have made an accusation against Mamata's party and to come clear on that is Mamata's work," he said.

He also said BJP would never use CBI as a tool to meet its political ends which the Congress was doing all along, starting from the time of Indira Gandhi upto those of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.

While addressing a rally in Kolkata on November 30, Shah had accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of creating hurdles for a proper NIA probe into the Burdwan blast to shield her party leaders allegedly involved in the incident.

He also alleged that Saradha chit fund money was used in the October 2 Burdwan blast.

However, Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh, had in a written reply in Parliament, said CBI investigations have so far not revealed that Saradha chit fund money was used to finance terror in Bangladesh, contradicting BJP Chief Amit Shah's allegation of such a connection.