Saket Gokhale. File photo | Photo Credit: PTI
Trinamool Congress spokesperson arrested Saket Gokhale The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has received a lukewarm response from his party leadership.
On earlier occasions when Mr Gokhale was arrested by the Gujarat police, the Trinamool leadership sent a party delegation in support of its spokesperson, with party president Mamata Banerjee describing him as a “good boy”.
However, when Mr Gokhale was arrested by the ED earlier this week on charges of money laundering, none of the top party leaders reacted. Only the lower rung party leadership has given a statement about the misuse of central agencies regarding his arrest. Sources in the Trinamool Congress suggested that the allegations against him are more serious now and the party wants to distance itself from its spokesperson.
‘More serious allegations’
“Getting arrested for a tweet targeting PM Modi and money laundering are two different issues. The arrest by the Gujarat Police was clearly an act of retaliation, but some in the party believe that the allegations against Mr Gokhale this time are more serious,” said a Trinamool source.
The ED had arrested Mr Gokhale on January 24 along with its prosecution statement, which accused the Trinamool spokesperson of laundering money collected through crowd funding. He will remain in ED custody till January 31.
The agency’s prosecution statement claimed that Mr Gokhale ran three crowdfunding campaigns, which generated funds of over ₹80 lakh, and received cash deposits of ₹23.54 lakh in his account. The ED had alleged that Mr Gokhale used Rs 30 lakh of this to pay his credit card bills, which mostly covered personal expenses.
Mr Gokhale had joined the Trinamool Congress in August 2021, months after the party’s landslide victory in the West Bengal assembly elections. The party was in an expansion mode, taking on leaders like Yashwant Sinha and Pawan Verma.
A lot has changed in the Trinamool Congress between August 2021 and January 2023. Many political observers say that the party has softened its stand towards the BJP leadership, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
‘Already facing the heat’
Biswanath Chakraborty, professor of political science at Rabindra Bharati University, said the Trinamool was already feeling the heat of several scams, including a recruitment scam in its government schools. “The Trinamool is under pressure from the recruitment scam and Saket does not want to open any new front for Gokhale. Moreover, this time the allegations against Mr Gokhale are serious,” said Professor Chakraborty.
The academician, who has been tracking the party for the past few years, said such spokespersons, who do not have mass appeal and are active only on social media, do not matter much in the long-term politics of the Trinamool Congress.
Mr Gokhale was earlier arrested by the Ahmedabad Police in the first week of December 2022 for a tweet related to the Morbi bridge tragedy, in which he targeted the Prime Minister. He was arrested twice for the same crime, first by the Ahmedabad Police and then by the Morbi Police. On December 30, 2022, he was arrested by the Ahmedabad Police for alleged misappropriation of funds collected through crowdfunding.